The Ballad of Sidewinder
by Agent-M-0167
Summary: New story altogether. This is in the same realm as my previous stories, this one being the most current in the timeline. I'm trying something different for a change. Please Read and Review.
1. The Chance of a Lifetime

**The Ballad of Sidewinder**

This is the story of an original character that I've created. If you've read any of my previous stories, you'll recognize this character from the "What Dreams…" story. She was introduced there and I'll tell her story of coming to the Joe Team. This story will tell of her entrance to the team and how she reacts to the team.

**Legal B.S.: **I don't own G.I. Joe or any of the established characters. They belong to their prospective companies (Marvel, Hasbro, Devil's Due, etc.). The only character that I own at this time is Cassidy M. Riley/Sidewinder. I also own RiotGear as well as The Stars and Bars Spectacular. If you would like to use them, please ask for permission.

**Premise:** Introduction of a new character and the reaction from the team and her feelings on them. There is a start of a rivalry/friendship with Ace and her friendship with Firewall.

**Characters: **Of course the new character will reign over this story. I'll also have Ace being a major player, as well as Firewall (which will be Sidewinder's roommate). As always, I'll have other characters in as well.

**Rating: **I'll have this as a PG; mainly for language, as well as the subject matter.

**Chapter 1**: The Chance of a Lifetime

"Cassie that is the dumbest thing that I've ever heard you say. You'll never amount to anything in your life. No military unit will take you."

"Mom, I want this. Dad always told me I could be whatever I wanted."

"Yeah, well you can go find him and tell him what I said. I wish you were never born."

"Mom, you've been drinking. You don't mean that."

"Yes I do, that man ruined my life. I used to be beautiful. When you came along, you took that away. You took away my life."

"So by drinking, you'll chase that away? You know I'll say this because you won't remember this. Go have another glass of wine and go fuck yourself."

"You think you're hot shit, you little bitch? I'll knock you down a couple of pegs then."

She felt the wine glass shatter on her back. The stale odor of boxed wine drenched her Air Force t-shirt. It was the glass that really hurt. It cut into her left shoulder and reopened the wound that mother created a week ago. While her mom was cheap, she believed in buying the best glasses for her booze. Her mom reached her and started to slap her across the face. Cassidy was used to this. She would have another story for the school principal on Monday. Her mother walked away after a dozen good hits. She was used to the comments, for she heard them a lot since she was twelve. The violence started at thirteen. Cassidy was tough; she would take a lot and go find her friends. She could stay with them.

"Go make me another drink, little miss fly-girl." Came her mother's voice.

"I'm sorry?" Cassidy replied.

"I said that we're ready for you to work on the new Strikers, Captain Riley." Spoke the voice. "Your plane is waiting for you."

"Sorry, I'll be there in ten minutes." Cassidy sat up in her bed and looked around her quarters. It was small, but it was all hers. She stood up and walked over to her closet, opening the door and grabbing a flight suit. She threw the uniform on the bed and looked into full-length mirror; admiring that even all of the shit she had been through she still looked good. She tossed her shoulder length strawberry blonde hair back in a couple of clips. She grabbed a bandanna from the top of her dresser and wrapped it around her head. She stared into the mirror again and looked at her green eyes. She followed them to the freckles she had around her nose. She brought her hand up to her tags, grabbed them and gave them a quick kiss. She stared at the rest of her body and felt ashamed. There was the scars from the cigarette burns on her upper right arm, the ones on her flat stomach from the time she was thrown through the plate-glass window. She turned around and looked at the ones on her back. The deep one on her left shoulder from multiple broken glasses; the one from the electrical cord that left a criss-cross pattern on her lower back. She walked away from the mirror and put on the uniform, then her boots and grabbed the pack of cigarettes from her nightstand. She lit up and walked out of her room, locking the door behind her.

She walked from her quarters to the hangars that were a football field's distance away. She spent this time preparing herself on these walks. She thought about a lot on these walks: her dad mostly. He was her strongest supporter. When her mother died, he took her in and took care of her. Her parents divorced when she was eight. She wanted to live with her dad, but the court forced her to live with her instead. From the age of eight until her mom died at fifteen, those days were hell on her. She learned early on that it was the booze that did this. She learned that acting that she was normal, she would fit in. She did fit in and got along with everyone in high school. They never knew about the pain that she dealt with. When she moved in with her father, he knew what happened. They would spend countless nights talking about what happened to her. He did his best to help her and encouraged her to do what she wanted. She couldn't thank him enough for what he did. It was her father that suggested that she become a pilot. She joined the Air Force right after high school. She went through the paces and worked her tail off. She became the youngest female pilot in the history of Wright-Patterson. She acquired the rank of Captain in that time.

She walked into the hanger and walked over to her plane. She was so proud of herself. She started to test the new Skystrikers that would be deployed to the G.I. Joe team. When she joined the Air Force, she heard of stories of the Joe team. She even met a couple of them. They seemed like a family. This was something that she yearned for; she never felt this on the base here. She couldn't pinpoint it, but she thought it had to do with her being a good pilot and a better mechanic. She took care of her own. She liked it better that way.

She unzipped the top of her flight suit, down to her waist. She tied the top part around her waist and pushed a rolling cabinet of tools over to plane. She put on a tool belt and grabbed the tools that she thought she would need. She pushed a ladder over to the plane and climbed up it. She opened up one of the panels and started to work on the plane.

The jeep pulled up to the guardhouse. The guard came out to the jeep and looked inside. There were two men in the jeep: the blonde haired one was dressed in an army dress uniform, and the brunette one was dressed in an air force uniform.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" the guard asked.

"Yes, you can. I'm Captain Armbruster of the G.I. Joe team. This is First Sergeant Hauser. We're looking for a Captain Cassidy Riley. Do you know where we could find her?"

The guard saluted them both. "Yes sir. At this time of day, she should be in the hangars working on her plane. Do you need directions, Captain?"

"No thank you, soldier." Duke replied. "We'll find it." He nodded to Ace and they drove off to the hangers. "You have an idea where she's at, Ace?"

"Yeah Duke, we were here some time ago." Ace replied. "I'm surprised that Hawk wants us to get this one. She seems like trouble."

Duke nodded to him. "You know how Hawk is on new recruits. He has his reasons."

"Yeah I know Duke, but why this particular pilot?" Ace asked. "I know that we're hurting for pilots, but this Captain Riley seems like a troublemaker."

Duke laughed. "You're one to talk, Brad. I seem to remember a pilot that has a weekly poker game. Seems that he has side bets with other Joes on what will happen on base?"

Ace smiled and shook his head. "You're just bitter because you lost fifty bucks on last week's game. You know when the next game is."

"I'm just saying, Ace." Duke shrugged. "Besides Shockwave was the guy that I lost the fifty to and he won't be there."

Ace nodded. "Yeah he's going on a mission with Jinx and a couple of greenies to that town in the Midwest. Checking for Cobra activity?"

Duke shrugged again. "That's classified information, Ace. I know only what Hawk said about the mission. Other than that it's a need to know basis."

"Yeah I know, top." Ace smiled. "I was just fishing, that's all."

Duke just shook his head. "I think that's our hangar." Ace nodded in agreement and stopped the jeep in front of the open bay doors. He hopped out and waited for Duke before they went in. Duke grabbed a file from his briefcase and walked over to Ace. The two of them walked into the hanger. They saw one plane in the hanger and saw someone working on it. They heard a boombox somewhere in the hanger playing Lita Ford's "Kiss Me Deadly."

"That's the new Skystriker?" Ace asked to Duke in a whisper.

Duke nodded. "Yep, they're based off of the new Raptor designs. It's supposed to outstrip the old models by quite a bit. I think this is part of the reason we're looking to have Captain Riley join our ranks. She's supposed to be the best."

"We'll see about that." Ace said with a smile. They walked closer to the plane. Ace saw her working on the plane near the thrusters. They walked closer to the plane. "Excuse me, are you Captain Riley?"

The metal thunk was a sign that they surprised her. "Jesus Christ! There's a fuckin' doorbell by the hangar door! You guys should know to ring it when I'm working in here! What the hell d'you want, you assholes??"

Duke spoke in his best authoritative voice. "Excuse me Captain? You care to repeat that again? I don't think that's how a Captain should speak to a superior."

Cassidy stuck her head out and looked over the left tail wing. She was sweaty, dirty and had a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. "Shit. Sorry there Top. I'll be right down." She stood up, stretched and dusted herself off. She bent down and turned off the boombox. She walked over to the ladder and put her feet on the top rung. She put her feet on the side of the ladder and slid down the ladder. She hit the ground feet first and put out the cigarette. She moved the goggles from her eyes to her forehead and took off her work gloves. She walked over to them and saluted.

"Sorry about that, Top." Cassidy replied. "I'm usually more polite when I'm expecting top brass. Captain Cassidy Michelle Riley, but you can call me Sidewinder."

"Like the missile?" Ace asked.

"You catch on pretty quick, flyboy." Sidewinder smiled. "I'm sorry Captain…?"

"Armbruster." Ace offered a hand. "Most of my teammates call me Ace." Sidewinder shook his hand. "This is First Sergeant Hauser, better known as Duke. We're from the G.I. Joe team. We'd like to talk to you for a few minutes."

Sidewinder looked at them. "Are you serious? Who put you up to this?"

"This is no joke, Captain." Duke spoke sternly. He handed her a file folder "Read'em and weep. You've just been reassigned." Sidewinder took the file from Duke and read it. She read the file and looked up. She couldn't believe her luck. This was the next step up for her. She wanted off of this base and was looking forward to being the best of the best. She closed the file and handed it back to Duke.

"I have a couple of questions. First, can I let my father know of my reassignment?"

Duke shook his head no. "You can let him know that you're moving to Fort Wadsworth and will be doing some test flights there. You can't mention that you're joining the Joes."

"Okay, that's fair. You guys are coverts, I know that." Sidewinder agreed. "Secondly, when can we leave? The sooner I'm away from here, the happier I'll be."


	2. The Challenge

**Chapter 2: **The Challenge

She left the two Joes at the hangar. She didn't have much to pack in her room. She told them that she would be back in the hour. She walked into her dorm and went to the closet. She opened the closet and grabbed the huge duffle bag out of it. She tossed it on the bed and started to empty her dresser and closet. She had every bit of her clothes packed up in a half an hour. She grabbed her iPod and the family pictures and shoved them into the bag. She looked around to see if she forgot anything. She saw the phone on the wall. She rushed over to it and called her dad. The phone rang a couple of times before she got her answer.

"Riley residence."

"Dad?"

"Cassie, is that my baby girl?" her father asked. "How's my favorite girl?"

"Good daddy. I was calling to let you know that the transfer came in. I'm going to Wadsworth. I'm only a couple of hours away instead of a day away."

"That's great, Cassie! Do you know when you'll get some time off and visit?"

"I'm not sure daddy." Sidewinder replied. "I'm just starting a new outfit. I don't even know any one of the troops. I've only met my C.O. and one of the other pilots. It'll be a couple of weeks before I'll know anyone."

"I see." said her father. "What did you think of the other pilot?"

"Daaad." Sidewinder said, rolling her eyes. "I just met him. He's kinda good looking, but I can't guarantee anything. He's a little off."

"Most of those flyboys have to be a little off." Her father chuckled. "Of course that would make you a little off as well."

"Not funny dad, not funny at all." Sidewinder laughed. "I have to go, but I'll call you in a week or so. Give my love to Jennifer for me."

"Jenny sends her love. You know that you can call her mom, right?"

"Dad, I know. It just feels odd, I guess." There was a knock at Sidewinder's door. "Daddy I really need to go. I'll call you later. I love you."

"I love you too, baby girl. Take care and be on your best behavior."

"I always am, daddy."

"You have too much of your mother in you." Her father chuckled. "Talk to you soon."

"Bye, daddy." Sidewinder hung up the phone. She went to the door and opened it. Ace was standing in the doorway. "You listening in on my private phone call?"

"I never eavesdrop." Ace smiled. "I just know when to get the right information."

"Hm, okay Nosey Joe. I'm just getting my gear. I'll be ready to go in a minute." Sidewinder grabbed the duffle off of the bed. "Ace, huh? Are you good at what you do zoomie?"

"I'm not too bad at what I do." Ace smiled slyly. "Actually, I'm real good at cards. I hold a game every Saturday night in the rec-room. You'll get your chance in a week."

Sidewinder looked at him. "You're serious? But gambling is…"

Ace laughed. "We're a little lax on regulations. Gambling is one of the little things the brass look away from. Hell, the General joins in sometimes."

The two of them walked out of the room and she closed the door. "Is there anything that I need to know that is lax on the base?"

"There are a few things that I should fill you in on." Ace said. "Because we're an elite team, gambling is okay. Some fraternization is allowed, but I need to warn you about who's who. I'll bring it to your attention when we run into it. Drinking is allowed to a certain extent."

"Anyone I need to watch out for?" Sidewinder asked.

"The major two are Clutch and Shipwreck." Ace chuckled. "Shipwreck is harmless, but he's a notorious prankster. He's in trouble at least one a week. Clutch on the other hand will hit on you constantly. You're a woman; he'll find you out by week's end. He doesn't give up to easily, but he's a good guy down deep."

"I've got it, I think." Sidewinder nodded. "And what about you, Ace? Are you as good as I hear?"

"That depends on whom you hear it from." Ace smiled again, holding the front door open for her. She walked past him with a smile and nod. "As a card player and friend, yes I am. As a pilot, I'm one of the best." Sidewinder stopped dead in her tracks. Ace stopped right next to her. "Was it something I said?"

"You claim to be the best pilot on the team? Is that a fact?" Sidewinder was smiling at him coyly. "I'm going to offer you a challenge and you better accept. You can call it whatever you want, but I'll bet you twenty that I can get lock on you in your old Striker than you can get a lock in my new one."

"I'll accept if I follow you up. I've heard that they've got a few more horses than mine."

Sidewinder turned to face him. She stuck out her hand. "It's a deal. So where's your plane parked flyboy?"

"On the airstrip. Duke rode with me." Ace shook her hand. "We'll have to get suited up. What about yours? Wasn't that it in the hangar?"

"Are you kidding? That one is the one I get to monkey with and see how it works. Mine is probably in the same hangar that you parked yours in. You'll see her soon enough." Sidewinder laughed. The two of them headed to the hangar and saw Duke waiting in his flight-suit. Ace went into the locker room to get changed. Sidewinder went over to talk to Duke.

"Hey top, I wanted to apologize about earlier. I'm used to guys coming in and giving me grief about being a pilot and a mechanic."

"Forget it, Riley." Duke smiled. "Keep in mind that that comment was your one "Get out of jail" card. You don't get one for at least six months."

"Wow, a C.O. with a sense of humor. That's got to be a first." Sidewinder smiled back.

"Watch it, Riley. Consider this me being nice. As long as you play nice with others or don't really screw up, we probably won't see each other."

Sidewinder nodded. "I'll go check my plane and get ready." She stopped in her thought. "Hey top, I'm warning you now that I bet Ace twenty bucks that I could get lock on him first. It might get a bit hairy up there. I'm hoping that you're not the airsick type."

Duke smiled to her. "Thanks for the warning. I guess that Ace's reputation follows him everywhere. All I ask is that you don't do anything too drastic. Ace has his reputation and to let you know, he's nine-zero in pilots."

Sidewinder nodded and walked away. She got herself and the Striker prepped. Everything was in working condition. She climbed into the cockpit and did her final checklist. She placed her helmet on and heard the Ace and Duke talking on the comms system. Then the radio operator chimed in.

"Striker A-one-four, you're clear for take-off on runway one. Striker R-zero-zero will take off on runway two. Good luck, Captain Riley."

"Thanks, tower." Sidewinder replied. She placed her mask on and lowered her visor. She tried her radio. "Ace, Duke; do you guys read me?"

A bit of static then both of their voices came over the speaker. "Read you loud and clear."

"Good, I'll go first as we bet. You've got ten minutes to catch me. If you don't have a lock, it's my turn. Sound fair?"

"Roger dodger, Sidewinder." Ace laughed. Sidewinder shook her head and rolled her eyes. She started down the runway; one hand on the stick and the other on the throttle. She took off like a shot and Ace followed her into the wild blue yonder. She had a bit of a head start on him, but she would give him a chance. She let him get right behind her. She bobbed and weaved out of range for him to try to catch her.

"Ace she's playing with you." Came Duke's voice over his comm-link.

"I know she is. I'm doing this to see what she can do." Ace replied. "I'll try for lock in a minute. She's better than I assumed."

Sidewinder knew that he was toying with her and she was toying with him. They just reached the nine minute mark. They were killing time. She looked at her watch and noticed that she had ten seconds. She heard the familiar warning of being tailed and waited long enough. She banked the jet a hard right. Ace followed her into the same bank. He wasn't going to give in this early. Sidewinder made a few hard turns and he followed after her. She heard his voice over the radio.

"I've got you just about locked. You better be ready to pay up."

"Not yet flyboy. I never concede this early." Sidewinder laughed. "Try and keep up." She floored the throttle and hit the afterburners. She shot off at Mach two and Ace hit the afterburners, following right after her. Sidewinder knew that her jet was faster on the turns and that was her advantage. She maneuvered the jet into a half barrel roll and flew right at Ace and Duke.

"She's playing chicken with us? Is she crazy?" Duke yelled.

"Yeah, let's see what she can do." Ace said gravely. The two jets flew at each other like javelins. Ace stressed on this. She was a wild one, but did she have the guts? They flew closer together and Ace had to back down. He flew in an upward direction trying to get out of the way. He lost sight of her after that moment. Ace looked around and didn't see her.

"Damn, I lost her. How did that happen?"

"That little stunt is what did it. That scared the hell out of me." Duke replied.

"That's because you didn't look hard enough. Look to your right, guy." Ace looked over to his right and saw her. She waved to them and she cut her engines. She ended up right behind Ace and got lock on the old Striker. He had to concede, for she was being reckless.

"Alright I'll concede for now. You've got some talent there, Sidewinder. Go ahead and follow me to your new home."

"Sounds good, Ace. Lead the way." Sidewinder said and cut out her radio. Ace's jet was quiet for a few moments. It was Duke that spoke first.

"My god, she's dangerous. Why did you concede? You could have taken her, Brad."

Ace sighed. "That was the main reason. I know now why Hawk wanted her. She's good."

"Are you kidding?" Duke exclaimed. "She could have killed us. How in the world do you figure that she's worth having on the team?"

"Duke, you have to look at it from a pilot's point of view." Ace said. "She flew over Badhakistan and was successful with all of missions. She's never lost. In dogfights, she's had over thirty confirmed kills in her total air history."

"How do you know this?"

"You're not the only that read her file, Duke." Ace laughed. "Franklin, Bill, Greg and Victor all read the file. We wanted to see what we're up against. She's better than the file said. She could really do some damage against Cobra."

"That's if she doesn't get any of us killed." Duke replied. Ace nodded in agreement. They flew into Fort Wadsworth air space. They heard a scratch coming in from base. It was Dial-Tone.

"Welcome home guys. I see that you have the new recruit. Captain Riley, the name's Jack, but on the team, I'm known as Dial-Tone. Follow Ace in and we'll go from there. Welcome aboard!"

Sidewinder smiled. "Thanks Dial-Tone. By the way, you can call me Sidewinder. It's a real pleasure."

"Anytime. Hope to talk to you soon." Dial-Tone clicked off and Sidewinder followed Ace into the hangar area. She stopped her jet and turned her off. She removed her helmet and respirator. She grabbed her gear from the co-pilot spot and opened the cockpit. She placed one foot on the edge of the cockpit and kept the other on her seat. She reached into her flight-suit and took out her pack of cigarettes. She lit one up and inhaled. She took a good strong breath and took it all in. She had her new home and these new brothers and sisters were sounding like they would be a good family to her.


	3. Home Sweet Home

**Chapter Three: **Home Sweet Home

Sidewinder walked over to Ace and Duke's SkyStriker. The cockpit was open and Ace was taking his helmet off. She didn't see Duke anywhere. She had to admit that Ace had some skills. Deep down she knew that she let her win; she had to play the reckless card. This was part of the reason that she didn't have many friends at Wright-Patterson. She knew that she was cocky, brash and had a huge chip on her shoulder. She knew that this was because of all of the abuse she took as a kid. It was also because she felt she had a lot to prove; not only to herself but to everyone. She had the skills, the talent and the guts. Ace stood up and waved to her, while Duke got up from his seat. He looked furious.

"Captain, you mind telling me what in God's green Earth did you think you were doing up there!? You could have gotten all of us killed!"

"Duke, cut the kid a break. She did fine." Ace chimed in. "She was showing us that she has the skills to pilot for us." Ace climbed down the ladder and walked over to her. "You did fine. For a pilot, you're in."

Duke climbed down his ladder. He walked over to Sidewinder. He poked her hard in the left shoulder. She winced but Duke didn't notice. "You ever pull a stunt like that again and I'll have your ass packed on the next bus back home. Do I make myself clear, Captain?"

"Yes sir. It won't happen again." Sidewinder said, through the screaming pain in her shoulder. He took his finger out of her shoulder. Duke stormed off to headquarters. He stopped halfway and spoke again.

"Ace, show her to her room."

"Yes sir." Ace saluted. Duke continued off to his office. Sidewinder grabbed her shoulder. Ace noticed this and tried to help her, but she pulled away.

"Don't touch it!" Sidewinder exclaimed. Ace looked at her. "Sorry, I'm okay. Could you do me a favor, Ace?"

"Sure, what do you need?"

Sidewinder unzipped her flightsuit. She pulled her left arm out of the suit. Ace noticed the scar on her shoulder. "Is it bleeding?"

Ace looked over the wound. It looked fine to him. He noticed that she had some more scars all over her back. "No, you're not bleeding. Are you sure that you're okay? That looks pretty back, Sidewinder."

Sidewinder put her arm back into the flightsuit and re-zipped it. She smiled to Ace. "Thank you. I'll fill you in another time about that." Ace nodded.

Ace walked Sidewinder over to the dormitories. It was a huge building about seven stories tall. She was surprised that they would have such a tall building on the base. Ace noticed her surprise and smiled.

"What's so funny, flyboy?"

"It's nothing." Ace replied. "I know what you're thinking but it's not a target. We've had Cobra attack the base a couple of times, but for some reason they never target that particular building. They usually go after what we store on base."

"So whoever built the dorms didn't think of this place to be a target? That's very strange." Sidewinder replied.

Ace shrugged. "I guess. The women have the entire fifth floor. This is the one and only time I'm allowed to go up there."

"Guys aren't allowed on the girls' floor?"

"Yeah." Ace smiled. "It's a safety thing. Mind you that there are about ten of you total. I'll introduce you to your room-mate. She'll take over from there."

"There's ten of us?" Sidewinder asked. "We all live on one floor?"

Ace opened the door for Sidewinder. She walked in and he followed her to the elevator. "Well, technically nine of you. Lady Jaye lives in one of the houses on base. She's married to Flint. Scarlett has been on the team since day one and she likes her privacy" Ace cleared his throat. "Actually, she shares quarters with Snake Eyes. They like to be on their own. The rest of the team share a room with one of the female Joes." The elevator door opened and Sidewinder walked in with Ace it tow. He pressed the five button and the elevator started to go to the fifth floor. Ace continued with their conversation.

"Yeah, I'm sure that Firewall will introduce you to them. Jinx, Bombstrike, Mayday and Vorona are off on different missions. I'm sure that you'll meet them soon. Cover Girl, Doc and Firewall are probably in the lounge. They have a video night on Sundays." The elevator stopped at the fifth floor and the door opened. Ace offered her the way out and he followed to the lobby. Sidewinder noticed a directory for the women. To the left was a sign with an arrow going the same way. The names on the wall were individual to the person: Cover Girl had a tank behind her name, Jinx had a ninja mask while Doc had a red cross and Bombstrike had a soccer ball. She noticed two more names: Vorona and Mayday. Each one had a sniper rifle on theirs but Vorona's had a Czech flag, while Mayday's had an American flag. The other side had fewer; Scarlett's was a crossbow and Firewall's was a computer. There was a dry erase board on the wall with a bunch of messages on it.

Ace walked in the direction to the right. "I'll take you past the lounge. If the girls aren't in, then we'll take you to Firewall." They heard swearing from the lounge as they got closer. Sidewinder looked at Ace, confused. He just smiled back to her.

"That would be Firewall. It sounds like she's by herself tonight, so she got the Xbox 360 out on the big screen in there." Ace chuckled. "I think the General is going to regret letting her get the Live membership." The two of them walked over to the lounge and walked in. Sidewinder was amazed that the lounge was the size of a small house. There was a full kitchen, an area to either read, watch television, or even play cards. It was then that Sidewinder noticed Firewall sitting on the floor, her back to them. She was moving all over, trying to defeat some creature on the screen and apparently not having much success.

"Mother…" She screamed at the screen. "How the hell am I supposed to kill the damn berserkers, let alone five of them!! When I get my hands on Bazooka, I'll kill him. He's good at taking them out! He decided to play against me! Damn it all to hell!"

"Having a problem there, Michelle?" Ace asked, causing Firewall to scream again. Sidewinder noticed that she was wearing a pair of blue gym shorts and a pink Hello Kitty t-shirt. She was trying to cover herself up as best as possible.

"What's it to you, Ace?" Firewall squeaked. "You could have let me know you were coming. I scored the lounge for the night. Courtney and Carla are out on dates and Scarlett didn't want to play. She complained about having carpal-tunnel or something."

"Firewall, this is your new room-mate Sidewinder. She came to the base today. We'll give her the tour tomorrow. I need to take care of something tonight." Ace placed her dufflebag on the couch. "I'll see you in the morning, Cassie. Night you two." With that, he walked back to the elevator. Sidewinder smiled and turned her attention to Firewall.

Firewall walked over to Sidewinder. "Name's Michelle, but I go by Firewall. I caught your handle…"

"It's Cassidy, but I go by Cassie." Sidewinder smiled. "I guess we're roomies."

Firewall nodded. "Yeah, I'm sorry to say that you got stuck with the geek."

"Your team-mates call you this?"

Firewall laughed. "Nah, they treat me like a little sister. I'm the youngest Joe on the team. I call myself a geek. Well, when you see the room; you'll understand."

Sidewinder smiled back to Firewall. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm kind of the same. Do you think I could give you a hand with this game?"

Firewall looked at Sidewinder with surprise. "You're kidding, right? No one wants to game with me. Of course, they come up with a nice way of saying it though."

Sidewinder walked over to the system and grabbed the second controller and sat down on the floor. "Nonsense, I used to date a guy at Wright-Patterson that was addicted to Gears of War. I learned a few things from watching him."

Firewall looked at her room-mate. "Okay, well let me get my Ipod working and we'll do some damage." She walked over to the Ipod and turned on "Ace of Spades". "I think this will work." She said sitting down next to Sidewinder. They played for a while until Scarlett came into the lounge and told them it was one in the morning and to pack it up. Sidewinder felt a connection to her and decided to head back to their room. She helped carry all of the 360 equipment to their room, along with her duffle. Firewall got to the door and unlocked it. She opened the door and let Sidewinder in. Sidewinder looked around and smiled; this was nicer than her old place and it was huge. The room was the size of a standard living room, with a small bathroom. She looked around and noticed that there were a lot of posters on the walls, as well as figurines and models on some of the shelves.

"Big fan of Final Fantasy, Firewall?" Sidewinder asked.

"Sorry, I told you I was a geek." Firewall blushed. "I've more of a fan of seven and eight. I liked ten and its sequel." She pointed to the area between the windows. She saw replica weapons of the main characters from the games, as well as several more posters near the fire escape. She placed her duffle on her bunk and walked over to the wall that had over five hundred DVDs. She noticed a lot of the movies on her shelves and some of them were her favorites.

"You work in a video store before joining the Joes?"

"Me?" Firewall came over to Sidewinder "Nah, the boys wouldn't let me work there. They were Star Trek geeks, although they would have gotten along with Dial-Tone pretty well." She picked up a DVD from the coffee table and placed it back on the shelf. "I used to rent out my collection to most of the team when I started here. I had to put a stop to it after Shipwreck borrowed Fast Times."

Sidewinder looked at her confused. "What do you mean?"

"You know, the Phoebe Cates coming out of the pool part? Needless to say it always skipped at that part." Firewall smiled. "I made Shipwreck buy me another copy. Now, I just lend them out to the girls."

"You know that you'll get them back the way that you kept them?" Sidewinder nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense." She tried to stifle a yawn, but felt really tired. "Do you mind if I step out on the escape and have a smoke?"

Firewall shook her head. "I'll keep you company. I'll join you for my kind of smoke." She went over to her nightstand and grabbed a joint out of her drawer. Sidewinder smiled at her. She had a feeling on that.

"I'm not surprised that you do that. Hell, I might join you on that sometime."

Firewall smiled at her. "I'm glad you won't say anything on this. It's been hard to do this for a while." They walked over to fire escape door and went outside. They both lit up and were quiet for a while. They finished up and walked back inside. Sidewinder was exhausted. Firewall looked tired also.

"Why don't we get some sleep? We'll talk more in the morning." Firewall said. "After PT with Beach Head, we'll show you the base and introduce you to as many of the Joes as we can. It'll be fun."

"Sure, sounds like a plan." Sidewinder walked into the bathroom to change. She didn't want to scare her new room-mate on the first night. She changed into some sleep clothes. She walked back into the main room and found Firewall was already asleep. Sidewinder pulled the blankets onto Firewall as she slept. She walked over to her bed and climbed in, where she sat awake for a few. She really liked Firewall and knew that they would get along pretty well. She smiled at promise of a new day and quickly fell asleep.


	4. A Case of the Mondays

**Chapter Four: **A case of the Mondays

Sidewinder walked into the mess hall with Firewall and Ace. They got up that morning and the entire team was out on the obstacle course. They did a full hour of sit-ups, push-ups and other basic calisthenics. When they were done, Beach Head had the entire group run the obstacle course about three times. When he was satisfied with them running the course, he shipped them off to do the rest of their days' activities. Sidewinder was absolutely feeling starved when they walked in. They walked over to the line and got their breakfast. They looked for a table and found one over by the window with Snake Eyes.

"Do you mind if we join you, Snakes?" Ace asked.

_By all means _Snake Eyes signed. The three of them sat down. _How are you doing this morning? I don't think we've been introduced. _He pointed to Sidewinder.

"I'm Cassidy Riley, but my handle is Sidewinder." She said as she shook his hand. "You can't talk?"

_It's a real long story. I lost my voice a long time ago._

"Yeah, Red told me." Firewall smiled. "I think it was romantic what you did."

Snake Eyes blushed. _Aw, it was nothing._

"Speaking of your lady, where is she?" Ace asked. "I didn't see her this morning at PT."

_There she is. _He pointed right behind Ace. The three of them turned around and saw her. Sidewinder noticed it was the red-head from the night before. Scarlett took the seat next to Snake Eyes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She looked up and noticed who was there.

"Morning Brad, Michelle." She looked over to Sidewinder. "You must be Sidewinder. Sorry about being so rude last night. It was one in the morning and I was trying to get some sleep. Don't think too badly of me. I'm usually pretty mellow." She extended her hand, which Sidewinder shook it.

"Nice to meet you, but off duty you could call me Cassie." Sidewinder smiled. "Sorry about last night. I was bonding with my new room-mate. We won't be up so late next time."

"Well on duty, I'm known as Scarlett, but like you said off duty I go by Shana. We'll have to get a little get together to have you meet the rest of the girls." She took a sip of her coffee. "Speaking of which, here comes Allie now." Sidewinder turned to see Lady Jaye walking over to the table. She didn't look too pleased.

"Morning Allie." Firewall smiled. Lady Jaye just gave her a look and turned to her coffee. Sidewinder looked at her room-mate and noticed that Firewall looked a little hurt by Lady Jaye's grumpiness. She put an arm around Firewall's shoulder. Firewall looked at her and smiled in a way that said thanks. Sidewinder noticed that Ace, Scarlett and Snake Eyes smiled to her. She was concerned about her room-mate and friend. Sidewinder turned to Lady Jaye.

"You know, Michelle was trying to be friendly. You didn't have to treat her like that."

Lady Jaye turned and glared at Sidewinder. "Don't start with me newbie. Just because you started doesn't mean you can tell me what to do."

Sidewinder was put off at Jaye's attitude. She turned back to her plate and started picking at it. There was a lot of tension at the table, so the guys tried to start a conversation.

_Did you catch the game last night, Ace?_

"Yeah I did, Snakes. I'll have your twenty by the end of the day." Ace smiled, along with Scarlett. Ace was infamous with his bets and most of the time he was on the winning side. "How did you know that Houston would win last night?"

_Intuition. _Snake Eyes signed. _No, just kidding. I played the averages. They won their last six games and I just took a shot._

"Remind me that when you bet on a game with some of the others to take your side." Ace smiled. "You have a knack of choosing good teams to bet on."

"Speaking of which," Scarlett chimed in. "How many seats are open for your game on Saturday? Snakes and I were thinking of joining this week."

Before Ace could answer, Jaye snapped. "Geez, could you guys drop it!? You just won your game this week Ace and you're planning the next game?" Jaye let out a sigh of disgust. Sidewinder had enough.

"You know if you're having a bad morning, why don't you go somewhere where your sourpuss would be appreciated. I'm thinking by yourself would be nice."

Jaye's eyes widen a little. "You know nothing of what I had to go through last night. You have a lot of guts to talk to me like that. I think you need to shut your yap before I shut it for you."

Ace groaned and dragged his hand across his face. Snake Eyes scratched the back of his neck and Scarlett looked into her cup of coffee. Firewall tried to defuse the situation, blaming it on Monday.

"Look, it's been a rough morning for all of us. Why don't we just finish breakfast and just try to enjoy the rest of the day."

Jaye looked right at Firewall. "Why don't you just shut up!" Firewall started to pick at her food again, but this time she had tears welling up in her eyes. Sidewinder noticed this and started back in on Jaye again.

"Don't you dare talk to Michelle like that! Why don't you go find someone else to bother and leave us to enjoy our morning."

"Why don't you go to hell." Jaye spat back.

"Why don't you shut up before you regret what will happen to you." Sidewinder snarled.

"_Go to hell you fucking bitch." _Jaye said in Gaelic. Sidewinder smiled.

"_I would, but I don't want your job of head demon, you cunt._" Jaye looked back at her in surprise, then an evil smile came to her lips.

"So, you know Gaelic? I'm impressed that a dumb blonde could be taught."

"_I know more than you, whore." _Sidewinder started back at her in Gaelic. "_Of course, what I'm trying to figure is what you have on our third in command. How did he get stuck with a psycho bitch like you?_"

Jaye looked livid. "What did you say?"

"Did I stutter? So you decide to ride the chain of command up to the top? It makes sense why you're in this outfit. It must be interesting to fuck the third in command to stay on this team." Scarlett's eyes grew huge in horror.

"You didn't?" Firewall squeaked out.

"Oh no." Ace groaned again, slapping his forehead.

Snake Eyes just shook his head. _This is going to be bad._

Jaye grabbed her coffee cup and threw its contents in Sidewinder's direction. She missed and hit Firewall in the face with hot coffee. Firewall screamed in pain. Scarlett got up and went to her side. Sidewinder grabbed her glass of orange juice and threw the juice into Jaye's face. Jaye was soaked. She stood up and was pissed off. Sidewinder stood up as well. She put her hand up and with a gesture, told Jaye to come and get her. Jaye snarled and leapt over the table to get at Sidewinder. Sidewinder grabbed her arm and with a rolling toss, threw Jaye into Bazooka. Jaye's body hit his tray, which he dropped.

"Aw man. I need more breakfast." Bazooka said, slumping his shoulders. He turned back to the line. The rest of the Joes stood up and watched in amazement. Jaye stood up and charged at Sidewinder.

"Catfight! Catfight!" Yelled Shipwreck. "Twenty bucks on the new girl!"

"Screw that! Thirty on Jaye to kick newbie's ass!" Clutch shouted.

"Thirty says that the mess gets destroyed!" Zap chuckled.

Jaye caught Sidewinder around the waist. Sidewinder smiled and brought her knee into Jaye's gut. Jaye's grip slackened and Sidewinder connected a hammer-blow to Jaye's back. Jaye dropped like a sack of potatoes, but she wasn't out. She grabbed Sidewinder's ankle and swept her leg. Sidewinder dropped on her butt and rolled to her side. Jaye was on her and applied a chokehold on Sidewinder. Sidewinder tested herself and stood up with Jaye on her back. She slipped on some of Bazooka's dropped breakfast and put Jaye and herself through a table. Both of them were winded, but it was Sidewinder that was up first. Ace ran to Sidewinder and tried to restrain her. Snake Eyes ran over to Jaye and put her in a half nelson. Both women were spitting and yowling like alley cats.

"Let go of me, Ace! I want to wreck her pretty face!"

"You're dead, bitch!" Jaye screamed. With her free hand, she found a knife on Snake Eyes and ripped it out of its home. She threw it at Sidewinder, with the blade finding its target. It sunk deep into Sidewinder's bad shoulder. Sidewinder dropped to her knees, screaming in agony. There was a collective gasp from everyone there. Ace was trying to remove the knife, but Sidewinder turned away from him. Snake Eyes let go of Jaye in shock. Even Jaye was surprised by what she did.

"I…I didn't mean…Oh God, what did I do?" Jaye was able to get out.

"WHAT IN GOD'S GREEN EARTH IS GOING ON IN MY MESS HALL?!" Everyone turned to the door and saw Beach Head storming in. He took a look around and saw the carnage in front of him. He saw Scarlett trying to help Firewall, both women not knowing what transpired. He saw Snake Eyes and Lady Jaye standing there in shock. Then he looked over to Ace trying to help Sidewinder, who at this point was on her side in the fetal position; bawling.

"I WANT THE SIX OF YOU DOWN IN THE GENERAL'S OFFICE! NOW!!" Beach Head yelled. The six soldiers got up and started towards the door. Beach Head growled and looked at everyone. He shook his head in disgust. Everyone stared at Beach Head, except for Bazooka.

"What did I miss?" Bazooka asked. Beach Head turned around. He was glaring at them.

"The only thing you missed was a war." Beach Head stated, getting angry. "I WANT ALL OF YOU THAT DIDN'T HELP STOP THIS TO KISS THE FLOOR AND GIVE ME ONE HUNDRED!! NOW!!" He walked out of the mess, leaving the rest of the Joes doing their punishment.

General Hawk sat at his desk working on paperwork. He was unaware of what transpired in the mess hall. He was working on the reports from Jinx and greenshirts Anderson and Greenwood. He was trying to figure out what transpired last night in the Midwest. He shook his head when there was a knock on the door."Come in." The door opened and it was Flint and Duke.

"How are you, sir?" Flint asked.

"I'm a little stressed out, Flint. That mission last night was a complete fiasco." Hawk said. "Is there any progress on Shockwave's situation?"

Duke shook his head. "He's in bad shape, sir. Lifeline and Dr. Talbot have been working on him since they got in this morning."

"If it wasn't for your piloting skills Flint, we would burying two soldiers today instead of one." Hawk said.

"Trust me sir, if it wasn't for both Jaye and I trying to stabilize him; we would have lost him. He gained consciousness for a short while, but slipped back out near Pennsylvania."

"He's been in worse sir." Duke chimed in. "He's a fighter and he'll fight through this."

"How is Jinx taking to all of this?" Hawk asked.

"She upset and rightfully so, sir. She took it really bad. Storm Shadow and Kamakura are with her right now." Flint said. "I've let Lifeline and Doc know that if she wanted to stay by his side…"

"Good call, Flint." Hawk replied. "She should be by his side, but we don't want her staying there all the time. She needs time I know, but she needs to be around others as well."

"Way ahead of you on that, General." Duke replied. "I talked to Storm Shadow and he said he would take care of her as well."

Hawk was about to ask another question when he heard a commotion from the hallway.

"We need to get Sidewinder and Firewall to the infirmary, Red."

"You want to tell that to Beach Head, Ace? Be my guest."

Duke stepped into the hallway to see what was going on. His eyes grew big. "General, you may want to call Doc or Stretcher. It seems your office is going to become a triage unit."

Hawk picked up the phone and called the infirmary. He spoke to Doc and asked her to come up and to bring up a medkit. He hung up the phone and looked to see Scarlett enter with Firewall holding the right side of her face. He then watched Snake Eyes escort Lady Jaye in the door. Finally, Ace was carrying in a pale Sidewinder. Beach Head came in last and closed the door.

Hawk stood up from his chair. "What the devil is going on here?"

"I'm not sure myself, General." Beach Head said. "I know there was a commotion from the mess hall. I got there too late, but I found Sidewinder here with a knife in her shoulder."

Duke and Flint looked at each other in shock. "What did you say, Sergeant?"

"I found them after a fight. Sidewinder had a knife in her shoulder. Jaye was standing there, with a shocked look on her face. Scarlett was trying to help Firewall here. I'm not sure what happened, sir."

Hawk looked at the situation. He saw that Sidewinder had a knife still in her left shoulder. Ace and Snake Eyes were trying to get the knife out without hurting Sidewinder. Scarlett was trying to help a squirming Firewall. Lady Jaye was the only one not doing anything. She looked like she was still in some form of shock.

"Beach, do you know who was involved?" Hawk asked.

"I think so sir. I believe it was Lady Jaye and Sidewinder. I think that Firewall was an unintended victim in this whole thing."

Hawk looked at Scarlett. "Scarlett, could you tell me what happened?"

"I can tell you up to when Jaye's coffee hit Firewall in the face. After that, I was taking care of Firewall." Hawk nodded as if to say continue. "Well I joined Snakes, Ace, Firewall and Sidewinder for breakfast. We were having an okay morning, then Jaye joined us. I knew that she was in a bad mood this morning, but I didn't warn the rest of them. I'll take blame on that."

"It's not your job to let people know if Allie is having a bad morning." Flint said.

"Still, I try to warn people when she's moody."

"Continue, Scarlett." Hawk said

"Well, Firewall said good morning to Jaye. Jaye responded negatively and upset Firewall. Sidewinder was trying to be nice and brought it to Jaye's attention of her attitude. Of course, Jaye responded negatively. We tried to talk about something else and it was okay for a minute or two when…"

"Let me guess, Jaye?" Hawk asked.

Scarlett nodded. "The two of them had words and Jaye had enough. She threw her coffee, aiming for Sidewinder. She missed and got Firewall."

Hawk sighed. "Which one of you want to take over the story?" Both Snake Eyes and Ace stepped forward and explained what happened next. They explained the fight, how they restrained both of them, how Jaye somehow got Snake Eyes' knife and threw it; hitting Sidewinder in the shoulder.

"I see." Hawk said after a few moments. "Scarlett, take Firewall down to the infirmary. If you run into Doc, tell her to go back to the infirmary. We'll send Sidewinder down in a little while." Scarlett helped Firewall up and started for the door. "Now, what to do with the other two? Any suggestions, gentlemen?" Hawk asked his commanding officers.

"If this was a regular unit sir, a court-marshal would be in order." Beach Head said.

Duke nodded. "This would be assault on Jaye's part. It was a fight General, any way you look at it. Both of them would have to be disciplined."

"I think that a court-marshal is a bit harsh. I agree with the discipline, but there's no reason for extreme measures." Flint replied.

"You trying to save your wife, Faireborn?" Beach Head asked.

"I'm not." Flint replied. This caused Jaye to look at Flint, confused. "We're all aware of Allison's outbursts. Most of the time, they're diffused before they escalate to physical violence. This is a first time offense with Jaye."

"That's true, sir." Duke agreed. "I'm sure that her anger got the best of her."

"I'm thinking that some time on the obstacle course would be perfect punishment for both of them." Beach Head said, grinning through his baclava.

Snake Eyes stepped up. _Actually, I have an idea sir._

All of the commanding officers looked at Snake Eyes. "Go ahead, Snake Eyes." Hawk said, smiling.

_I could use some… assistants for my self defense classes. I think that these two would be perfect. They seem to have the energy that is needed to help with my classes._

Duke, Flint and Hawk smiled at the proposition. Beach Head looked at Snake Eyes with a murderous look. "You're giving them the easy way out having them be his assistants. He'll take it easy on them."

_Actually Beach, they will help for all of my advanced and expert classes. They aren't getting off that easy at all. I think they'll do fine._ Snake Eyes signed.

Even Beach Head smiled. Hawk was the one that spoke. "I think that sounds like a better idea. Okay Snakes, they belong to you this afternoon. Try to make sure that they aren't dead by the end of the week. That's how long you have them for."

_Fair enough. They'll be fine and done Friday. You have my word._ Snake Eyes smiled. _Jaye, you better get in your training gear. I have an advanced class in an hour. I'll take care of Sidewinder, Ace. I'll make sure that she gets taken care of._

Ace let go of Sidewinder. She smiled and mouthed a thank you to Ace. He smiled and walked out of the room. Jaye left as well, with Flint right behind her. Snake Eyes walked out of the office with Sidewinder. They headed to the infirmary.


	5. Points of View

**Chapter Five: **Points of View

Lady Jaye stormed out of Hawk's office and down the end of the hallway. She had anger issues in the past, but they never got this out of control. She was surprised to even what she did. She knew that this was partly because of last night. She did whatever she could to save him, but it might not have been enough. She was worried about him, but more worried about her friend. Jinx had been a good friend to her and she was trying to help her through the rough patch that they were having. She felt so helpless for both of them right now; one was dying and the other was hurting. She didn't notice Flint following behind her.

"Allie, what's going on with you today?"

She jumped when she heard Flint. "Please leave me alone, Dash. I'm…I'm…" Flint placed an arm around her shoulders and Jaye started crying hysterically. Flint pulled her close and held her; she was shaking and he was worried.

"Allie, what's been going on with you lately? You've never attacked a fellow Joe before. What happened back there?"

"It's the stress, Dash." Jaye sobbed. "We're all feeling the stress. We've been chasing Cobra cells for weeks. We've been having a rough time, so have other couples. Look at Jinx and Shockwave: they were fighting before this last mission and now…" She couldn't finish what she wanted to say. It was too muchfor her. She went to college with Jinx and they were good friends. Her heart went out to Jinx.

Flint tried his best to comfort her. "Allie, we've been through harder times. I know that we've been working our tails off. Everything will be fine, I assure you." Jaye sniffed and nodded her head. "Okay, are you feeling a bit better?" Jaye nodded again. "I'll tell you what, tonight you and I will go out for dinner and when we get home; I'll give you a massage and I'll even massage your feet."

Jaye looked up to him. "Anywhere I choose?" Flint nodded yes back to her. "Okay, that sounds great Dash. I need to go; I have to get ready for Snakes' class." She broke from the hug, but gave her husband a kiss goodbye. She turned down the hall and back to their house. Flint watched her walk home. He let out a sigh and returned back to office to continue some work.

Snake Eyes helped Sidewinder in the infirmary doors. She had been pretty quiet after everything that happened. She was looking pretty pale and the wound had slowly stopped bleeding. He was concerned for her. He dragged her in and laid her down on one of the open cots. He went to find Doc, but she found him instead.

"How is she, Snakes?" Doc asked.

_She's lost some blood, but it seems to have slowed since I got her here. She's pretty pale and the pain is considerate. She was conscious when I brought her in._

"Okay, let's go take a look at her." Doc smiled. She followed him to the cot that he put Sidewinder in. She was still there but on her side staring out away from them. Snake Eyes went over to look at her. He looked into her eyes and she was crying. He noticed in her right hand was the knife that was in her flesh.

_Doc, she pulled the knife out of herself. It went straight through the shoulder._

"Wow, that's some feat." Doc gasped. "Sidewinder, my name is Carla but I go by Doc. Honey, I need you to take off the sweatshirt so I can take a look at your shoulder." Sidewinder slowly sat up and with some help was able to remove her sweatshirt. Snake Eyes grabbed her hand and let her know that he was there for her. Sidewinder looked up to him, but said nothing. He looked over to Doc; which she just shook her head.

"Well the knife wound didn't hit any major arteries or muscles. I can mend the wound for her in a couple of minutes. She'll have to be careful not to do anything strenuous for a day or so." Doc looked her over, her eyes growing wider by the moment. "Sidewinder, I'm going to borrow Snake Eyes for a minute. Is that okay with you?" Sidewinder nodded, barely making contact with either of them. Doc motioned Snake Eyes over to her.

"Snakes, did you see the damage on that girl's body?" Doc said in a faint whisper. Snake Eyes nodded to her.

_I'll ask her, see if she'll respond. _Snake Eyes signed. _I think it's from abuse._

"Do you think it's recent?" Doc asked.

Snake Eyes shook his head. _I don't think so. The only one I'm concerned with is the knife wound. It seems that it never really healed. Did you notice the massive scar tissue there?_

Doc nodded. "I noticed it, too. I'll bring Scarlett and Firewall in and the four of you can be there for her. Let her talk; get everything out in the open. It might help more than one person tonight, I think." Snake Eyes smiled and nodded.

_Doc, this is unorthodox but let me fix that one. The left shoulder will be healed by the end of tonight. I'll make sure that it heals._ Snake Eyes signed.

Doc sighed. "Normally I'd say no, but I trust you on this. Do what you have to. I'll get the other two and have them come in here." Snake Eyes bowed to her, grateful for her help. Doc smiled back to Snake Eyes and walked to the other side of the room. He went into the room that Sidewinder was at to help her.


	6. Morning Constitution

**Chapter Six: **Morning Constitution

Snake Eyes walked over to Sidewinder's cot. She was still sitting there, like a statue. He sat down in front of her, smiling. She looked at him and returned the smile. She was still sad, but somehow found comfort from him. It was strange that this silent warrior hid a gentle soul. He held out his hand, which she put hers into. He patted her hand as to say that he understood.

_I want to work on that shoulder. I've learned a couple of things that would help fix it. You'll be your normal self in no time._ Snake Eyes signed with one hand. The smile slid a bit from Sidewinder's face. She was embarrassed on what her body showed to him, but again felt that he would understand.

"What happened to you?" It was Firewall's voice. She ran over and sat down next to Sidewinder and took her other hand. "Honey, what happened? I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you. Are you okay?"

Snake Eyes stood up and walked over to Scarlett. She stood in the doorway horrified. He pulled her close to him; comforting her with her own scars as well. He let go and wiped a tear from her eyes.

_Shana, could you find Tommy and have him and Sean teach my classes today? I think we're going to be needed here instead of class. Could you help me with this when you find them and let them know what's going on? Also, get Ace, but don't have him come in. I think he likes Sidewinder, but I need to see his reaction._

"I'll do it for you, Charlie. I'll be back shortly." Scarlett whispered to him, kissing his cheek. He smiled back to her.

_You're the best, did you know that? I love you._

Scarlett looked at Snake Eyes with some surprise. "You still surprise me after all of these years together. I'll be right back." With this she took off to look for Storm Shadow and Kamakura. Snake Eyes watched Scarlett move down the hallway for a minute. He smiled to himself and turned back to Sidewinder and Firewall. Sidewinder was explaining everything that happened after Firewall received the coffee to the face.

"So then, Ace was trying to restrain me and Snakes was trying to restrain Jaye, right?" Sidewinder said. "Well, she gets a knife off of Snakes' belt and chucks it into my left shoulder. It goes right through."

"I've never heard of Jaye that mad to actually throw a weapon." Firewall replied. Her face was fine, Snake Eyes noticed. It looked like Doc applied some cream to keep the face from burning and swelling. She seemed like she was back to normal. He sat down behind her and lightly touched her shoulder. Sidewinder relaxed from the first touch. Firewall looked over to Sidewinder's back.

"What are you doing, Snakes?" Firewall asked.

"Whatever he's doing, he can continue doing it." Sidewinder said with a slight moan. "Too bad you have Scarlett; otherwise I'd show you one hell of a time."

"I'm flattered, but Red would kick my ass eight ways to Sunday." Snake Eyes said in a raspy whisper. "Besides, I'm a one woman guy anyway."

Firewall looked at him surprised. "I didn't think that you could talk." Sidewinder nodded.

"My hands are busy trying to mend her shoulder; I can't sign with busy hands." Snake Eyes shook his head. "Forgive the pun, Cassie."

Sidewinder laughed. "That's a good one, Snakes. Didn't think you had a sense of humor. You are something else." Firewall looked at them both. She shook her head.

"If this is a private thing, I'm heading back to the room."

"Actually, we need both of you here." Spoke Scarlett from the doorway. "Snakes, are you charming our new Joe?"

"Never Shana, do I look like the type that would do that?" Snake Eyes asked. "I'm insulted that you would say that. What kind of guy would I be?" Snake Eyes flashed his million dollar smile to Scarlett. She smiled and gave him a wink. She sat down across from Firewall and Sidewinder, watching them with interest.

"Scarlett, I wasn't trying anything with your man, honestly." Sidewinder scrambled to cover up what just happened.

It was Scarlett's turn to laugh. "I know that. Snakes isn't the type to cheat. I trust him with my life and he trusts me with his. We've been together for so long… Anyway, you almost done, Snakes?"

He stood up, walking over to Scarlett. _Yep, we're all set._ He sat down next to Scarlett and held her hand. Scarlett smiled from his affection. This could be a new Snake Eyes, she though. She shook her thoughts free and came back to talk about them.

"What happened, Cassie?"

"I'm not sure. Jaye just irked me. She was insulting my room-mate…"

"Sorry, I meant with the scars. What happened?" Scarlett asked.

"What is this? Twenty questions?" Sidewinder stammered out. "I barely know either of you, let alone my room-mate. This is something that I will share in time."

"I know, but it's hard to go through alone. I mean, the physical scars heal, but the mental ones take a lot longer." It was Firewall that spoke, tears from her eyes. "My dad said that I would amount to nothing. I was his only child and he told me for years that I would be a nothing."

"Shelly, you're not a nothing." Sidewinder turned to her, tears in her eyes. "I barely know you, but you've been more of a friend to me than anyone else in my life. I have someone to be a geek with, I have someone to be a girl with. Shit, look what you've accomplished. You're a freaking Joe, for crying out loud. Shelly, I want someone that will be a friend when I need one."

"I want that too." Firewall said. "I know that you've been through a lot. I want you to open up to me. I want you to talk to me when you need to and vice versa. I need someone to be there for me when I need them."

_I think that you two are going to be fine. You have each other as well as us if you need us. It may not seem like it, but I can help. The four of us could write a book on physical and mental scars that could scare Psyche-out. _Snake Eyes signed. _Cassie, you're off the hook for today, but make sure that you are at my classes for the rest of the week._

"Michelle, could you show Cassie around the premises?" Scarlett asked. "Take the day to get to know each other, become friends. We'll get Ace and the five of us will have dinner tonight."

"Ace!" Sidewinder exclaimed. "Is Ace okay? I treated him like shit. I feel so bad; I mean he was trying to help and… Oh God, I feel horrible." Firewall put an arm around Sidewinder.

"I'm sure that he's fine." Firewall said. "He's pretty cool. I'm sure that the two of you will find time to talk. He'll understand."

_It seems that little sister understands._

"Don't tease her, Snakes." Scarlett smiled. "We'll find him and explain. He's a stand-up guy. He'll have you introduced to the crew in no time." She stood up and Snake Eyes joined her. "Michelle, why don't you take Cassie and show her the rest of the infirmary, then the base? We'll see you two later." They left the room, walking towards Ace. Sidewinder and Firewall exited the other side of the infirmary.

"Is she okay?" Ace asked. "I was worried about her."

_She's fine, Brad. _Snake Eyes signed. _I wanted you to see her body. She's been through a lot, but I'm sure she'll open up in time._

"But the scars, Snakes. What happened…?"

_I'm not too sure either. I know that Firewall's was more mental. Sidewinder's case could be both. Give her time._

"It's just that…" Ace stumbled on his words, which was a first for him.

"You speechless, Brad? Where's a camera when I need one?" Scarlett joked.

"She beat me; I don't know what came over me, Shana." Ace smiled. "She was toying with me and… wow. She was reckless and I never felt so alive when I challenged her. She's special and I don't know how I'll tell her that."

_Love at first sight?_ Snake Eyes signed.

"Yeah, buddy. It was and I don't know what to do. I never had this problem before and now…" Ace blushed at his nervousness. "I want her to talk to me."

"Let her bond with her room-mate. Ask her to join the game Saturday. I'm sure she'll come. We'll have some fun that night." Scarlett replied. Ace smiled and nodded. The three of them walked out of the infirmary.

Sidewinder and Firewall spent the day walking the premises, talking and being themselves. By the end of the day, they were close as two friends, let alone two girlfriends could be. They laughed, cried and spoke of the demons that haunted their lives. They knew that they would be there for each other as long as each other would have breath. They met with the others for dinner. Scarlett, Snake Eyes and Ace already had a table waiting for them. They joined them after getting food from the mess.

"Sorry we're late, guys." Firewall sat down next to Scarlett. "We got lost talking."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Sidewinder smiled, sitting next to Ace. She tapped him on the shoulder. He looked over to her and smiled. Sidewinder leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"What was that for?" Ace whispered to Sidewinder.

"For being my hero at breakfast." She whispered. "I know that you tried to help, but you took care of me. That's more than any man has done for me ever. Well, any single man has done. Snakes is spoken for." With that, she sat down and started into her meal.

"Well, I've got some open seats for the game on Saturday, anyone in?" Ace asked nonchalantly. Snake Eyes, Scarlett and Sidewinder raised their hands. Firewall smiled to them.

"Sorry guys, I've got a date with Dusty. He asked me at the end of the last game. Like I'm going to say no to him." Everyone finished dinner and went back to the dormitory. The five of them took the elevator up; Ace got off at the fourth floor. The rest of them got up to the fifth floor. They walked over to Scarlett and Snake Eyes' door and wished them goodnight. Once the door closed, the two of them raced down the hallway to their room. Firewall got to the door first and unlocked it. The two room-mates got in the room and shut the door. They were laughing like two schoolgirls.

"What was that with Ace, Cassie?" Firewall asked. "You two seemed that you were in a moment? Do you like him?"

"What are you talking about, Shelly?" Sidewinder asked embarrassed.

"You kissed him. I saw it." Firewall said. "Actually everyone at the table saw it."

"Oh that." Sidewinder smiled. "I was thanking him for helping me earlier today. He was trying to be a gentleman. It was sweet."

"Brad's all right." Firewall replied. "He's got an ego, but he is friendly. I've been to a couple of Ace's card games and I've had a good time. Ron on the other hand…"

"Is that this Dusty guy you mentioned?" Sidewinder asked.

"Yeah, he's a sweetheart." Firewall blushed. "I met him a couple times when I joined the team. He was one of my teachers. He really helped me get through a few things that happened. We just started talking and before I knew it, he asked me out. We've been on a couple of dates, but nothing serious."

"Do you think he could be the one?" Sidewinder asked.

"You plan on letting me know about Brad?" Firewall smiled.

"In time, Shelly. I want to see what Ace has in store for me." Sidewinder wondered what Ace did have in store for her. She had all of the time in the world to figure this out later. She wanted to watch a movie.

"Are you in the mood to watch some John Hughes?" Sidewinder asked.

Firewall smiled. "I thought you'd never ask." She went over to the library and grabbed "The Breakfast Club." Firewall put it in the DVD player and they watched the movie until they called in a night and went to sleep.


	7. New Endeavors

**Chapter Seven: **New Endeavors

Most of Sidewinder's week was uneventful. She did her punishment with Snake Eyes. She apologized to Lady Jaye about the fight, which she accepted. Yet Jaye avoided talking to her unless it was absolutely necessary. She was either still upset with her, or there was something else. Sidewinder let it go, even though something in the back of her head said that she shouldn't. She also met Ace's band, The Stars and Bars Spectacular. She thought they were a good group of guys. Rock & Roll was a funny guy, Ace was his usual self and Dusty was quiet, but very friendly. She could see why Firewall liked him; he was sweet, caring and considerate. She also met Shockwave, who was in the hospital. He was pretty banged up, but he was full of life. She asked Ace if he was famous or something; He did look familiar. She also met the other girls on her floor. They were a tight knit group and Sidewinder was glad that she had some new friends to get to know. She was also getting along with the other Joes on base and it was starting to feel like a family.

She spent her Friday like the rest of the days that week. She went to PT for three hours, then classes with Lady Jaye and Snake Eyes. Sidewinder was looking forward to joining Snake Eyes' advanced class, which he offered to her with her work with him. She spent the afternoon hanging out with Wild Bill, Airborne, and Lift-Ticket in the hangar working on the new SkyStrikers. They brought her back into the main office to talk. Wild Bill was in the middle of one of his stories.

"I'm tellin' you darlin', I though Ace was havin' a litter of kittens with what we did to him on that prank." Wild Bill laughed. She loved talking to the Texan, for he was full of stories about all of the Joes.

Airborne, Lift-Ticket and Sidewinder were laughing so hard that tears were rolling down their cheeks. Sidewinder wiped them away. She couldn't stop grinning.

"Bill that was a classic." Sidewinder smiled to them. "I hate to kill the mood but can I ask you guys a question? I'm gonna try to be serious for a moment thought."

"Of course you can. We'll answer the best we can." Airborne smiled.

"Is Ace seeing anyone?"

The three other pilots looked at each other. "Tell the truth Cass, I don't think that is a path you should follow." Lift-Ticket said solemnly. Sidewinder looked at them confused.

"Brother Ace is a wonderful pilot, a hell of a friend." Airborne tried to smile. "When it comes to matters of the heart, well that's different."

"Look, would you guys just be straightforward with me?" Sidewinder asked. "While I appreciate that you three are looking out for my well-being, what happened?"

"Look Cassie, Ace's heart belonged to someone else." Bill started. "Nice girl named Marie. She wasn't as pretty as you or my Sally, but Ace really liked her."

"Liked her? Bill, he wanted to marry the girl." Lift-Ticket chimed in.

"Yeah, but the spirits of luck weren't on his side." Airborne said.

"She died?" Sidewinder asked.

"Nope, she ended up with another Joe." Bill stated. "'nother pilot by the name of Ghostrider. Nice guy, but real quiet. He was kind of a homebody, which this girl was looking for. They got hitched and he works for the government now. Ace never forgave Ghostrider for it. Since that incident, Ace never trusted any of the new pilots."

"Yeah, outside of the four of us and Slipstream, he never got to know the others." Lift-Ticket said. "In his opinion, he really didn't care. He made friends all over base, including us and his bandmates. The rest of the pilots were beneath him. That's why he started this little challenge game."

"The one I challenged him to? I won thought, although I think that he let me win." Sidewinder replied. "I was reckless, so I thought that's why he conceded."

"She is wise for her years." Airborne smiled to Wild Bill and Lift-Ticket. "He did let you win, but what you believe is only part true. He knew that you could fly him in circles. You are talented. Ace was outgunned; you did what no one other than us was able to do: beat him."

"I beat him legit?"

"Legit, darlin'." Bill said. "You humbled him. He was glad for that. 'Course we'll deny it if it's repeated."

"Understood, Bill." Sidewinder smiled. "I'm gonna split for the night. See you guys at the game tomorrow night?" Wild Bill and Lift-Ticket nodded.

"Stuck on duty, but have fun." Airborne smiled. With that, Sidewinder walked out of the office and headed back to the dorms. She lit up a cigarette and walked the path back to the dorms. She was surprised to what she found out on Ace. She decided that as much as she liked Ace, she would give him some time. She stood in front of the dorm and finished her smoke. She walked in and took the elevator up to the fifth floor. She walked past the lounge waving to the others and walked into her room. She walked to her door and opened it. She saw Firewall watching a movie.

"Hey whatcha watching?"

"I just finished "Shaun of the Dead." Firewall said with a sigh. "I need to get out of her. I've been stuck on base all week."

"I hear ya." Sidewinder smiled. "Let me call my dad and we'll see who wants to go out on a girls' night out."

"You are so whipped. I need to call daddy and tell him that I've been a good girl. Daddy's girl." Firewall joked. "Wappshht! Wappshht!" Sidewinder stuck her tongue out to her. Firewall just smiled.

"Well, find out who's in, keyboard jockey. That'll keep you out of my hair for five minutes." Sidewinder smiled.

"Crap! Thanks for reminding me!" Firewall exclaimed, running to her computer. "I need to get a report to Flint before he leaves the office."

"Sure thing, Shelly. Can I use the phone?" Firewall waved her hand dismissively, as to say go ahead. "Thanks Shell." She dialed the number and there was an answer right away. "Hi, daddy, it's your little girl…"

Lady Jaye walked out of the elevator, fuming. Flint was stuck as C.O. this evening and they were supposed to go out for dinner again. She was not having a good week. She had paperwork to get caught up on, plus she had to help Snake Eyes with his classes. To make it worse, she had to work with Sidewinder. She was glad to be out of her punishment, but at the same time; felt bad for what she did. She was stressed out and had enough. She needed a girls' night out. She walked over to Scarlett's door and knocked on it. She heard a muffled noise and Scarlett's voice coming through the door.

"Just ignore it, they'll go away."

"Shana, open this door this instant. It's Allie." Lady Jaye said.

There was a commotion followed by Scarlett's voice again.

"If you open that door, you're dodging an arrow first."

There was something happening, followed by the door opening a hair. There was a loud thunk and Jaye noticed an arrow point going through the door. The door opened and Snake Eyes was there in jeans and a t-shirt.

_Hey Allie, what's up?_ Snake Eyes signed with one hand.

"Are you okay, Snakes?" Jaye asked.

_Peachy. Shana's inside._ Snake Eyes smiled, still signing with one hand.

Jaye walked in and looked at Scarlett. Scarlett was in her bra and a pair of jeans and had her crossbow out aimed down a bit with a shocked look on her face. She turned to Snake Eyes, who was still at the door with a smile on his face. Jaye looked over to the arrow and it was through Snake Eyes' hand.

"Are you all right? Do you need help with that?" Jaye asked.

_No, I can get this. I didn't think that Scarlett would shoot. Guess I lost that bet._ Snake Eyes finished signing and turned his attention back to his hand. He broke the shaft of the bolt and slid the bolt out of his hand. He smiled, took the broken arrow and handed it back to Scarlett. She kissed him on the cheek as to say that she was sorry. He smiled and kissed her back, accepting the apology. He walked into the bathroom to patch himself up.

"Now what were you going on about before I shot my man?" Scarlett asked.

"Sorry Shana, but Flint got stuck on duty tonight and I need to get out of here. I'm thinking that we need a night out, girls' only." Jaye complained.

_Oh I see, girls' only. I'll manage._ Snake Eyes pouted.

"See Allie, I had something going here until you showed up." Scarlett frowned.

_Shana, I was kidding. You two should go out and have a nice night. I'll find something to do here. _Snake Eyes smiled.

"Actually, if Snakes would rub my shoulders; I say he could go with us." Jaye pleaded. Snake Eyes shrugged and had Jaye sit down. He went and sat behind her and started to massage her shoulders. Jaye let out a sigh.

"Oh sure, thanks Snakes. Not just two minutes ago, you were giving me a massage." Scarlett pouted. "Now you're taking care of Allie."

"Shana, you shot an arrow into my hand." Snakes Eyes spoke in his raspy voice, smiling. "I'm surprised that I can do this right now."

Jaye looked over to Snakes in surprise. "You can talk?"

"Snakes' can talk, barely." Scarlett smiled. "Actually before the incident, he was a regular chatterbox. He doesn't talk much because it hurts a lot."

"That's right, besides my hands are a bit busy." Snake Eyes said. "Allie, you have a bad knot right here. I'll have it in a moment." He placed his right hand on the knot and worked on it. Jaye about fell over, but she sat upright and smiled.

"If you keep this up, I'm divorcing Dash and marrying you, Snakes."

"Please Allie, you're a close friend. Call me Charlie." Snake Eyes whispered.

"I like Snake Eyes better." Scarlett smiled. Snake Eyes stuck out his tongue to her. Scarlett laughed at his joke. Lady Jaye just shook her head.

"Actually Allie, it sounds like a good idea. I could some time outside this base." Scarlett thought about it. "I'll see whose available tonight and we'll head out."

Jaye looked at her with a certain look. "Whatever you do, don't invite Sidewinder. I don't think I can put up with her tonight." This brought a look of surprise to both Scarlett and Snake Eyes' faces. Jaye caught their look at her.

"That's not fair, Allie." Scarlett chided her. "So I'm supposed to go to Firewall's room and not invite her for a girls' night? That's pretty low."

_I have to agree. _Snake Eyes returned to signing. _You haven't really given her a chance. Hell, she did apologize to you about it. You didn't return the favor. _

"Jaye! What's the matter with you?" Scarlett shouted. "You threw a knife at her! You could have court-marshalled. Why didn't you apologize?"

Lady Jaye looked at the ground. She really couldn't come up with an answer. She was upset that day due to what happened to Shockwave. She had been short with everyone this week. She yelled at her team-mates, even assaulted one of them. She even yelled at her husband for no good reason; he was trying to be helpful. She broke down in tears. Scarlett walked over to her side, with an arm of comfort.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you Allie but, I was only telling the truth." Scarlett whispered.

"No, you're right Red." Jaye said, wiping the tears away. "I'll go invite them; you go see who else would like to go." Jaye stood up and walked to the door. "Snakes, you can come if you want to. You'd be the only guy that we'd invite."

Snake Eyes smiled and started to sign. _No, you gals go out and have a great time. We'll have some time together tomorrow night after Ace's game, Shana. You need some time away from me. I'll find something to do._

Scarlett looked at Snake Eyes sadly. "I don't want to leave your side, ever."

Lady Jaye didn't stick around. She walked out the door and headed to Firewall and Sidewinder's door. She got to it and knocked on it. Sidewinder opened the door, phone still in her hand. She gestured for Jaye to come in. Jaye walked in and saw Firewall on the computer, finishing an e-mail. Sidewinder closed the door and offered her a seat. Jaye sat down on the couch, waiting for the two of them to finish.

"I gotta go, dad. I'll talk to you soon. Love you too, dad." Sidewinder said, hanging up the phone. She looked over to Firewall. "No need to page Allie, she's here."

Firewall spun around in her chair. She smiled and waved to her. "Hey, we were just wondering what you were up to tonight?"

Jaye looked at both of them with surprise. Jaye looked at both of them and they were all smiles. "I was actually wondering what you two were planning. That's why I'm here."

"Cool, we're thinking girls' night." Firewall exclaimed. She practically shot out of her chair and ran for the door. "I'll see who else is in for tonight." With that, she opened the door and ran into the hallway then out of sight. Jaye and Sidewinder stared at the doorway for a couple of moments. Jaye shook her head and laughed. Sidewinder did the same thing. Jaye looked over to Sidewinder and smiled.

"Is she always like that?"

"You'd run too if you finished a liter of Mountain Dew in fifteen minutes." Sidewinder smiled back at Jaye. They looked at each other for a minute or two. It was Lady Jaye that finally spoke her mind.

"Look, Sidewinder about the other day…"

"Cassie."

"I'm sorry?" Jaye asked.

"Please call me Cassie, Jaye." Sidewinder said. "We're off duty and I only answer to Sidewinder when I'm on."

Lady Jaye smiled to her. "I'm surprised that you're pretty relaxed around me."

"There's no reason for me to hold a grudge. What happened on Monday was in the past."

"No, I owe you an apology. I wasn't in a right mindset. I was under a lot of stress." Jaye explained. "I've been snapping at people all week."

Sidewinder smiled and stuck her hand out. "We all get stressed. You would be surprised the stress that I went through at Patterson." Jaye looked down at the hand. She looked back at Sidewinder and she was still smiling. Jaye smiled back and shook her hand.

"Well all right." Sidewinder said. "What do you say to some drinks? First round is on you, of course."

Lady Jaye smiled at her. "I'll tell you what, get dolled up and meet me at my place. I'll buy the first round. After that, I don't think that we'll have to worry about buying drinks." Sidewinder looked at her confused. "I know of a place that we'll be popular." Jaye said. Jaye then walked out the door and down the hall. Firewall came running in after Lady Jaye left. Firewall opened her closet and started looking for something to wear. Sidewinder did the same, although she knew that didn't have much in the fashion department. Maybe she could find something that was flattering. She started digging through her clothes to find something.

"What do you think?" Firewall asked. Sidewinder took a look at her and smiled. Firewall didn't get out much, Sidewinder thought. Firewall had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was wearing a white tank-top with a butterfly print on the side and a pair of jeans with the left knee torn. Sidewinder smiled at her.

"You have better fashion taste than I do." Sidewinder smiled to her. She continued to rummage through her closet for something. "By the way, who's all going tonight?"

"Not too many of us." Firewall lost a bit of her smile. "Shana and Allie are going, as well as the two of us. I was able to convince Kimi to leave Shockwave's side for a night. Courtney said that she'd meet us there later tonight. That's pretty much it."

"Hey that's most of us." Sidewinder replied, grabbing a black skirt. "It'll be fun." Firewall nodded.

"I'll wait for you and the others by the elevator." Firewall said, heading for the door. She walked out and waited for them. Sidewinder started digging again and couldn't find too much. She ended up grabbing her father's army jacket, her black skirt, a light green tank-top, her combat boots and a pair of fishnets that she had from a Halloween party a few years back. She looked in Firewall's full length mirror and admired how she looked. She grabbed her purse, cigarettes and keys. She walked out the door and locked up. She walked towards the elevator and saw the others.Scarlett had her hair down and was wearing blue jeans and a peasant top. Jinx had her hair down as well and was wearing a denim skirt and a men's dress shirt. They looked over to Sidewinder and were surprised.

"Wow." Jinx replied.

"I'm impressed." Scarlett smiled. "You do have some fashion sense."

"Actually, this is my standard going out uniform." Sidewinder blushed. "I'm surprised that Snakes let you out, Shana." Scarlett made a face at her.

"Can we go now?" Firewall asked. "I need a drink." Everyone laughed and walked into the elevator. They took it down to the main floor. They walked out of the lobby and towards the garage. They received a lot of whistles and cat-calls from the guys. The four of them would just wave. While on the way to the garage, Sidewinder noticed Ace outside one of the hangars. She smiled to him and gave him a slight wave. Ace was surprised at her appearance. He looked like he was about to lose his jaw. She turned her attention away and continued on her way. They got to the garage and walked over to Scarlett's SUV and got in. They headed over to Jaye's house to pick her up.


	8. Truth and Consequences

**Chapter Eight: **Truth and Consequences

Sidewinder had been out drinking with Scarlett, Lady Jaye, Jinx and Firewall for the last three hours. Cover Girl and Vorona showed up in the last hour and started to put them away as well. She was glad that she felt welcome with the girls on her team. She didn't have many friends when she was at Wright-Patterson. Now that she was part of this team; she felt that not only did she have friends, but an actual sisterhood with these women. She felt the closest with Firewall, but she started to feel close to the others as well. She looked at the clock on the wall and noticed that it was eleven at night. She knew that she was drunk and the rest of the girls were pretty well gone as well. She didn't have anything to do the next day but go to Ace's card game in the evening. They walked to the back of the bar where the pool tables were and decided to shoot and talk. Sidewinder walked over to Firewall and tapped her on the shoulder to wake her.

"C'mon lightweight, we're going towards the back to shoot pool." Firewall sleepily woke up and nodded. Firewall stood up and nearly fell over. Sidewinder and Vorona caught her and carried her to the back with them.

"Maybe we should call taxi for Firewall?" Vorona asked, putting her down gently in a nearby stool.

"Scarlett and Cover Girl looked her over. "I think Shelly will be okay Daina. She doesn't drink that much booze in the first place." Scarlett replied.

"She only had a couple of vodka shots, Red." Sidewinder replied. "It really put her out though. You think she'll be okay?"

Cover Girl nodded. "We've taken her out before, Cassie. She has a couple of drinks and sleeps the rest of the time. She'll be fine in the morning."

Jinx came over and placed a hand on Sidewinder's shoulder. "I'll keep an eye on her. You four go ahead and start shooting." Jaye racked the pool balls while Scarlett and Vorona started chalking their cues.

"Actually, I'll sit this game out." Sidewinder smiled. "I'll keep you company, if that's okay with you?" Jinx nodded and offered her a seat. Both of them had shots in front of them and they took them.

"So, how's Jason doing Kimi?"

Jinx looked at her and smiled. "You can ask him yourself. He's right behind you." Sidewinder looked at her confused but turned around. She not only saw Shockwave, but Shipwreck, Snake Eyes, Ace, Dusty, Low-Light and Flint. They were all dressed in street clothes and smiling. The women went up to their respective others and started talking to them. Sidewinder sat back and took a deep drink from her beer. She sat there watching Flint and Jaye, Snakes and Scarlett, Cover Girl and Shipwreck, Jinx and Shockwave and felt a bit left out. She knew that Vorona and Low-Light were good friends, so the two of the shooting pool was common. Dusty and Ace walked over to where she was at.

"How's our new pilot doing?" Dusty asked, taking the seat next to Firewall. He rubbed her shoulder and Firewall sat up and smiled. Dusty leaned over and whispered into Firewall's ear. Firewall nodded and stood up.

"I'm good, Ron. You taking her home?" Sidewinder asked. Dusty nodded.

"I'll make sure that she gets back to her room in one piece." Dusty replied. He bent over and picked her up. He was going to carry her out and back home. They walked out of the bar together. Ace took the spot that Dusty was in a minute ago. He smiled and took a drink from his beer. Cover Girl came up to them.

"Hey we're heading back to base. You staying, Cassie?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna have a couple more. You guys go ahead. I'll be fine." Sidewinder replied with a smile. "I'll take over the game there." She nodded to the pool table. Cover Girl nodded and the group left. Sidewinder got up and grabbed a cue. She was surprised that Ace stayed behind.

"You don't have to stick around, flyboy. I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself."

"I don't think so. Looking like that, I'm surprised that you aren't fending off guys with a stick." Ace smiled. Sidewinder glared at him and threatened him with a pool cue.

"What do you mean by that, flyboy?"

Ace jumped back a little bit. "No that's not what I meant, Cassie. You look great but I'm surprised that there aren't a couple dozen guys back here." Sidewinder turned away and shot the cueball. She broke the rack and knocked a couple of solids into some pockets. Ace walked over and grabbed another cue to wait his turn.

"If you must know, I'm not very popular with the guys." Sidewinder lined up another shot and sunk another solid. She stood up and lit up a cigarette. "I never had a boyfriend for more than six months, Ace."

Ace chalked the cue stick. "That sounds real familiar. I'm lucky in many things, but love seems to be the one that I'm not."

Sidewinder lined up another shot and missed. "You plan on having luck with this game tonight, Brad?"

"You called me by my first name?" Ace lined up his shot and also missed. "That's a first for you Cassie."

"Yeah, well I'm trying something new where I'm nice to you." Sidewinder half-smiled and sunk another solid ball. "I think the booze is what's doing it."

Ace smiled at her. "Remind me to keep you liquored up then." Sidewinder's eyes grew wide. She threw her cue stick down on the ground. Ace was confused on what was going on. Sidewinder stripped out of her jacket at him. He caught the jacket.

"You insensitive asshole!" Sidewinder yelled; tears forming in her eyes. "You trying to turn me into an alcoholic? Do I have to show you what results come from drunk mother fuckers? Here take a good long look!" She got into Ace's face, practically screaming at him. "You see this? Burns from a cigarette; my mother's cigarette." She took off her tank-top and stood there in her skirt and bra. "Take a good look. See the scars on my stomach? My mother threw me through a plate-glass window. I nearly fucking died from the blood loss. If I hadn't made it to my friend's house, I would have." She turned around and showed him her back. "See this? This was her on a bender. One hundred lashes from an electrical cord. She thought it was funny. I won't even go into the left shoulder." She grabbed her jacket and put it back on. She sat down in the empty chair, put her head on the table and sobbed. Ace sat there in shock. He didn't know what to say. Instinct took over and he stood up and walked over to her. He placed an arm around her, trying to comfort her. Her body flinched away from him.

"Cass, I didn't know. You could have told me."

"It doesn't matter." Sidewinder sniffed. "It was in the past. That's why I'm so close to my dad. I told him everything one night."

"Kind of like you're telling me right now?" Ace asked.

Sidewinder nodded. "I don't expect you to understand. I'm surprised that Shelly understands." Ace nodded, which caused Sidewinder to look up at him.

"Michelle told me about her situation one night. I didn't understand, but I let her talk. I never understood what would cause a person to do that to their children. It's sick."

Sidewinder looked away from him. "You're a good man, Brad Armbruster. You're the type of man that I could never deserve." She stood up from the table. Ace followed suit.

"What are you talking about, Cassidy?" Ace's words wouldn't be finished at that point; Sidewinder stepped closer and embraced him, kissing him deeply. She broke off the kiss.

"Please hold me, Brad." He took her into his arms and held her. He took in the smell of her lilac perfume; the stale smoke coming from her jacket. It was a hypnotic scent and strangely he wanted more. He placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head to look her in the eyes. She was more beautiful than he thought. Ace smiled at her; which she returned the smile.

"Thank you, Brad." Was all that Sidewinder could say to him.

"No thank you. You let me into your world. I should let you into mine." Ace smiled his million dollar smile to her.

"You really are a charmer, aren't you?" Sidewinder asked. "My dad warned me about zoomies like you. He told me that you're all about getting girls in the sack."

"Cassie, I'm almost shocked that you would say that." Ace laughed. "You think that all us flyboys think about is sex? I'm not about to say he's right."

Sidewinder just shook her head. "Alright, if you buy me a cup of coffee we'll continue this conversation somewhere else." She took Ace's arm and they walked out of the bar. They walked to a local coffee shop, where they spent most of the night talking about themselves and their pasts. They finally let the coffee shop at four in the morning, where Ace walked her back to her door. She gave him a goodnight kiss and walked into her room. She placed her head on the pillow and quickly fell asleep.


	9. SNAFU

**Chapter Nine: **SNAFU

_Three months later…_

Jinx, Sidewinder, Cover Girl, Ace, Shipwreck and Shockwave were off the base for a weekend. Jinx suggested that they go up to Shockwave's cabin for the weekend. At first Sidewinder was surprised that Jinx asked her, but ever since Shockwave got out of rehabilitation; both Jinx and Shockwave were a real pleasure to be around. Jinx mentioned to her that the last visit they were out here and the little exploits that they had. Sidewinder thought it was about time for the two of them. Strangely to Sidewinder, she was surprised that she was getting along with Cover Girl and Jinx. They really hit it off; not to say anything against any of the other females Joes. She was even more surprised that she got along with Shockwave and Shipwreck. Shockwave was a down-to-earth guy and a real pleasure to be around. Shipwreck, much to Ace's warning, wasn't all that bad. He was a showoff, but she knew deep down that he was a decent guy. Ace on the other hand was friendly, but had been distant since the night at the bar. Sidewinder took in what the other pilots told her, but still felt that there was hope for him. They found themselves outside near the firepit that Shockwave made near the beach. They started a bonfire and waited for Shockwave to come back with the marshmallows.

"I could get used to this." Cover Girl sighed, taking a sip of her beer. Shipwreck grabbed her beer and took a long drink from it. "Get your own, swabby."

"Yeah the last thing you need is another beer, Court." Sidewinder said, tuning Shockwave's guitar. Cover Girl just stuck out her tongue in response. "Any requests?"

"You know "Hard Luck Woman" by KISS?" Shockwave asked from the path. He held his arms up, showing that he had marshmallows. Jinx got up and met him halfway. She planted a kiss on his lips, which brought groans from the other four Joes.

"Get a room, supercop!" Shipwreck shouted. "Unless we can borrow one from you, that is." He grabbed Cover Girl around the waist and picked her up. Shipwreck lost his balance and fell over with Cover Girl landing right on top of him. Ace made an attempt to help them, but fell over laughing. Jinx, Sidewinder and Shockwave were also laughing at the situation.

"That's it, Hector. No more drinks for the sailor." Sidewinder gasped, out of breath. She shook her head and started to play "Hard Luck Woman". Shockwave smiled and nodded his approval. Jinx started to sing with Sidewinder's playing. They were having a great time. Sidewinder finished the song and lit up. Cover Girl grabbed one and had one with her. Everyone looked at her with surprise.

"Oh for God's sake, I was a model. The agents told me that it helped."

"And if those same agents told you to jump off a bridge?" Jinx asked.

"Watch it roomie; I know where you sleep at night." Cover Girl joked.

"Yeah, in my arms." Shockwave smiled.

"That's sweet, Jason." Jinx smiled back to him. Sidewinder shot off of her log.

"Jason Justice! Why didn't I see it earlier?" Shockwave blushed.

"Well there goes my secret. Who told her?"

"No one." Sidewinder said. "I've been trying to figure this out since I met you three months ago. I thought you looked familiar."

"Guilty, I guess." Shockwave smiled. He reached out for the guitar, which she gave over to him. Shockwave strummed for a few minutes. Sidewinder stared out to the ocean and decided to take a walk.

"I'll be right back." Sidewinder smiled. "Gonna check out the beach."

"You want some company?" Ace asked. It was the first thing he said to her all night.

"Nah, but thanks anyway." Sidewinder walked a bit down the beach. Jinx and Cover Girl took this as a sign. They got up and went after her. This left Ace and Shockwave around the bonfire. Shipwreck was snoring loudly from behind one of the logs. Shockwave strummed a few more chords then stopped. He picked up a marshmallow and pegged Ace in the ear with it.

"Hey! What the hell, Jas?"

"What did you do?" Shockwave asked.

"Nothing Jason, really."

"That's bullshit and you know it. What happened? You were raving over her to me at the last show and now nothing?"

"I rather not, Jas. I think it was a fleeting thing with her." Ace sighed. "Hell who am I kidding? She's all that I think about, man."

"I think you need to tell her this, Brad." Shockwave put a hand on Ace's shoulder. "I think that it's best if she hears it from you. You need to get off your ass and get over to her and tell her what you're feeling. Stop comparing her to Marie; she's a lot of things that Marie never was. Cassie's a hell of a lot better for you, man."

Ace nodded and stood up. He walked off to find Sidewinder. He ran into Cover Girl and Jinx on the way to find her.

"We've done all we can, Brad." Jinx whispered. "It's all you now." They continued walking back to the bonfire. Ace continued from where the two Joes came from. He saw a small dock and a solitary figure sitting on it. She was bathed in the moonlight and Ace thought that she was the most beautiful woman in the world. He had to tell her everything. He walked up to the dock and took a step on the wood. Sidewinder turned and noticed him coming. She turned back to the water and wiped away a tear by using her sleeve. He walked closer and sat down next to her. She took out another cigarette and lit up. They sat for a few moments.

"So, you have something to say to me Brad?"

"I…I owe you an apology for starters." Ace sighed.

"I'm waiting, Brad."

"I'm sorry that I've been treating you badly. You don't deserve it." Ace sighed again. "Look, I've been trying to sort out some things and you have been on the receiving end of it. I've been a real shit."

Sidewinder took another drag. "I don't really blame you, not totally anyway. I'm going through a couple of issues myself."

"What do you mean?" Ace asked.

"Like I told you before, I've never been really good with men. You're the first man that I've fallen for. It's been difficult having to deal with your bullshit, let alone my own."

"I think I'm feeling the same here too." Ace said. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. She looked up at him and smiled. Ace smiled back and leaned in to kiss her. He was an inch away when the searchlight hit them. They were blinded and were trying to figure out what was going on when they heard Wild Bill's voice from the loudspeaker.

"Hate to break up the party, lovebirds. You both are needed for a mission. We need you two right now." A ladder came from the chopper and landed near them.

"You think we can continue this when we get back from the mission?" Ace asked. Sidewinder nodded and started up the ladder with Ace in tow. They were going on a mission; her first.


	10. Of All of the Greatest Laid Out Plans

**Chapter Ten: **Of all the greatest laid plans…

Wild Bill took the two of them to a small airfield several miles away. He landed the Tomahawk on the field and cut the engines. He unbuckled the safety latch and got up; walking to the back to find the two pilots. He saw them sitting close to each other and felt guilty that he had to drag them away from such a fun time. He wanted to give them a moment, but orders were orders and this was necessary.

"Sorry 'bout draggin' you two away from a special moment."

Ace looked up and smiled. "Don't worry about it, Bill. We have all of the time in the world. We were discussing…"

"I know." Wild Bill smiled under his mustache. "Sally and I did this when we first were dating as well. I hope you two can just understand what you have."

Sidewinder nodded. "I think I understand, Bill. Thank you." With that, the two of them stood up and followed Wild Bill out of the bay of the Tomahawk. They followed them to the only hangar that was on the airfield. They walked in the hangar and Bill shut the door from the outside. Sidewinder looked and giggled to what she saw. Ace looked over to her confused.

"I thought that I'd never get to see a Rattler up close. In Badhakistan, I shot down fifteen of these things. They are hard to take down. They're a flying tank."

"They are hard to take down. We actually had to steal this one." Spoke a voice from behind them. Sidewinder and Act turned around. They both noticed General Hawk standing there with a big smile on his face. The two of them saluted the General.

"Sorry about my exuberance, sir. I've always wanted to be this close to one. I've piloted an A-10, but I was curious if this was any different." Sidewinder blushed.

"There isn't much of a difference." Hawk smiled, walking closer. "I've seen these up close and they're pretty close." Hawk put an arm around her shoulder, causing Sidewinder to turn a brighter shade of red. Ace smiled to her and stood back a little. He wanted to see how she would react. What really happened was less innocent. The general walked her around the Rattler and explained the differences. They returned to where Ace was standing; where Ace was all smiles. Hawk took his arm off of Sidewinder and turned back to the table that was behind him beforehand. Sidewinder noticed three people next to the General.

"Sidewinder let me introduce to a few Joes. You already know Firewall." Sidewinder smiled to her room-mate and she smiled back. "This is Kenneth Rich, otherwise known as Psyche-Out. Not only is he the Joe psychologist, he had a background on how to act with Cobra." The two shook hands. Hawk moved over to the other man.

"This is Richard, otherwise known as Mercer." Mercer nodded. "Mercer is the only Viper to survive getting out of Cobra. He's seen the light and works for us. Not only could he have you acting the part of a Cobra, but having you believe that you are one. We're going to have to talk about your mission."

Sidewinder was in the pilot's seat of the Rattler. She was tugging at the Strato-Viper uniform that she was wearing. She felt odd about this mission. Something in the pit of her stomach told her this wouldn't work. Needless to say, both Ace and herself said that they would do this. The mission was simple: investigate an island just south of the Florida Keys. Satellite intelligence was showing a new Terrordrome being built in the area. They just needed some photos of the site. In and out in less than an hour: no more or less. She was getting a sinking feeling about this and couldn't describe it.

"Hey, why are you so quiet up there?" She heard Ace over the Joe communicator.

"It's just a feeling I'm having, Ace. That's all." She was trying to sound confident, but she could tell that she was failing.

"Don't be nervous. We'll be fine. The first one is the scariest."

"Are you psychic, Ace?"

"Nah, I was the same on my first mission." Sidewinder nodded. The radio in the Rattler came to life.

"Come in Rattler, come in."

"Yeah, yeah; I heard you the first time." Sidewinder snarled. "Strato-constrictor-two-six, reporting. I have a gunner's mate in the gun station."

"Gunner's mate, come in." Spoke the Tele-Viper.

"Pit Viper-constrictor-two-six. You want my measurements as well, pervert?" Ace joked.

"I don't know what is worse, the Strato-viper's attitude or the Pit-viper's jokes. Take it past the south part of the island. Land there and wait for instruction."

"Kiss my ass, nerd." Sidewinder snarled again. "We'll park it wherever." With that, she clicked off the radio. "Ace, where is the building?"

"Due south, Sidewinder. Do a slow fly-by. I'll snap a few and we do a fly-for patrol." They flew to the south to find the Terrordrome. They spotted it and Ace snapped the recon photos.

"We're done. Land, find the crew chief and tell them that you're doing a perimeter check and we're out of here." Ace sighed. Sidewinder did the same. She landed on one of the empty landing zones. There was a crew there and they stood around for a few moments. Sidewinder got into her character and yelled at the crew for a few minutes until the guard-master came out.

"Well, you're late." Said the Cobra officer, smiling under his mask. "Of course, we've got to go out of our way for pilots."

"Well, I had to wait on your sorry ass. Now I'm late for patrol. You mind giving me my orders? I'm late for a poker game." Sidewinder shouted. Ace snickered.

"Something funny?"

"Yeah, you're idea of running this area." Ace smiled. "We've been doing this longer than you've been an officer. How's about our assignment?" The officer sighed and shrugged his shoulders. He gave them a report; it said to check the Keys for any Joe activity.

"We've got intel that some Joes are in the area. Keep an eye out." The officer said.

"Yeah, I'll keep both eyes out on this." Ace joked. The officer smacked Ace on the back of the helmet. Sidewinder shoved the officer, where he landed on his ass. Sidewinder pulled her sidearm and aimed at the officer's head.

"Don't go messing up my gunner's head, dumb fuck! I had to cap my last one and I just got this trained. Next time I cap you, you dig?" The officer nodded and stood back up. He dusted himself off and walked off to another crew. Sidewinder holstered her sidearm and walked back to the Rattler.

"Laid it on a little thick there, didn't you?" Ace whispered.

"It worked, didn't it?" Sidewinder whispered back. "Anyway, let's get the hell out of here." She started back up the ladder when the officer came back.

"What's your call sign again, pilot?" the officer asked.

"Strato-constrictor-two-six and if I have to repeat myself again, I'm gonna get pissed." The officer reached for his sidearm and so did Sidewinder. The officer yelled out that they were imposters, but Sidewinder shot him point-blank in the face. She shot two of the ground crew dead and got in the pilot seat. Ace jumped in the gunner's position just as Sidewinder was taking off. The alarms started blaring over the island.

"So much for the element of surprise!" Ace shouted, closing the gunner's hatch. "Punch it, Cassie and get us out of here!" Sidewinder pushed the jets and took off. She barely missed the treeline by inches. She pushed the throttle and slammed the Rattler into the sky. She was dodging the anti-aircraft guns from the A.S.P. gun emplacements. There were some narrow misses, but Sidewinder did some wild maneuvers to dodge all of the shots. They got into American airspace and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not bad there, Cassie. I thought we were done for." Ace laughed.

"Yeah, well we're not home yet. We'll celebrate when we get there." Sidewinder replied, removing the Strato-viper helmet. That feeling that something was going to happen was still with her. The radio chimed again.

"Unidentified aircraft, please identify yourself."

Sidewinder wasn't sure if it was a trick or not. She decided that they were entering airspace near Georgia that they were safe.

"Secret channel Alpha-Omega. Government officials on a top secret mission. If you have a problem, contact General Abernathy out of Fort Wadsworth."

"See, that was your first mistake." Spoke the voice. Before she could react, the canopy exploded, raining glass onto Sidewinder. The Rattler did a sudden jolt and started into a nosedive. Ace grabbed the co-pilot stick and took over, trying his best to get control. The Rattler was slammed with another shot, tearing the left wing and engine right off. They were now in an uncontrolled spin.

"Cassie! Can you hear me? Cass!" Ace shouted. There was silence. "Cass!" Ace started to try to control the Rattler again, but his stick was locked out. "Cass, let me take over." It was the last time he would hear her voice.

"I love you, Brad." Ace's hatch was blown and his seat ejected him out of the Rattler. He was sent out of the Rattler, watching the whole episode happen in front of him. His chute opened and he watched the Rattler come out of the spin, but continuing in a nosedive. He could have sworn that he heard the Rattler's nose cannon being fired on the way down. The Rattler continued on its nosedive into a beginning housing development. He watched in horror as the Rattler crashed and exploded taking out a group of trailers.

"Cassidy! NO!" Ace screamed. It was the only thing that he could do. He hung his head, sad for the sacrifice of her life for his. He had a mission to complete. He looked at his compass and took record of his coordinates.

"Omega channel, are you online?" Ace said. "This is Easter Egg to the Bunny."

The radio screeched and popped. He heard Lady Jaye's voice. "This is Bunny to Easter Egg. We read you. What's your status?"

"Jaye, it's Ace. Status is mission complete." Ace sighed. "Allie, you better put me through to Hawk. There has been a casualty. I repeat, there has been a casualty." The other side was silence, except for whatever Jaye dropped. Then he heard Firewall screaming in the background. Ace could only hang his head.

"Ace, it's Hawk. Report status."

"General, I need a pickup team at my current coordinates. I also need a recovery team."

"What happened?"

"I'll fill you in when you come in for pickup. I'm landing shortly." Ace cut out the radio to base. He landed in a field less than one-hundred yards away. He ditched the parachute and took off to the crash site. He reached as close as he could to the fire, but the heat kept him from getting any closer. He started looking around the crashed plane and looking around the destroyed trailers. He saw a couple of bodies lying in the burning trailers and they were dead. He got closer and noticed that there was some machines were broken as well. He walked around to another trailer and noticed the same thing. He bent over and looked through some of the rubble. He spotted something that seemed out of place: a Cobra assault rifle.

"The hell is this doing here?" Ace heard a noise from behind him and aimed the rifle. He noticed that there was a Viper coming at him. The Viper's uniform was tattered and torn, with parts of it smoldering from a fire. The helmet that he was wearing was broken so that Ace could see his face. He was holding a pistol in his hand.

"Seems that you stepped into another one of our hideouts, pilot. It's a pity that you'll never tell any of your Joe buddies about this." Ace pulled the trigger of the rifle, but the rifle was jammed. The Viper smiled and lifted his pistol. Ace didn't want to go out like this, but at least he would be with her. The gunshot rang out in the night. Ace actually jumped and he checked himself, looking for a bullet wound. He looked over to the Viper; the smile on his face was gone. There was blood trickling from the hole in the middle of his forehead. He fell backwards and was dead. Ace turned around and noticed who fired the shot. It was Sidewinder.


	11. Lost and Found

**Chapter Eleven: **Lost and Found

Ace stood there in shock. He watched the Rattler go into a nosedive. He never saw her jump out. How did she survive? Sidewinder continued looking at the dead Viper, as if in a trance.

"Don't you fuck with my man, asshole." Sidewinder stood there in a tattered Strato-viper, her sidearm in her right hand smoking. She looked a bit rough around the edges, but she was alive. Ace walked up to her and lifted her head up to his. She looked into his eyes and smiled.

"Hey handsome, did you miss me?" She couldn't say much more for it was Ace's turn to kiss and surprise her. They broke away and Sidewinder looked away, blushing. Sidewinder started to cough. She covered her mouth and withdrew her hand. She noticed blood on it, but decided not to let Ace know. She wiped her hand on her wrecked uniform and pushed away from Ace. It was now or never.

"Brad we're not done here, the mission isn't done." Ace looked at her quizzically. "I saw a couple of gun emplacements before I crashed the Rattler on the command bases. We need to take them out before the Joes get here."

Ace nodded. "Where to Cassie?" Sidewinder pointed behind Ace. He picked up the fallen Viper's pistol and pocketed it. They headed into some of the trees and sneaked fifty yards until they saw the emplacement. Sidewinder snuck up to one of the guards, a S.A.W. Viper; that was close to their position. She grabbed the jaw of the Viper and with a quick motion; snapped his neck. She dragged the body behind the tree they were hiding. Ace looked at her, rubbing his neck in shock. Sidewinder rolled her eyes and picked up the assault rifle and two pistols that the Viper was carrying. She armed herself with the rifle and gave the other two pistols to Ace. She signed to Ace that he should keep an eye on the A.S.P. gun and she would sign if it's clear. He sat down and watched as she stole into the night. Ace watched as each one of the guards disappeared into the night. She was good and they were none the wiser. She finally crawled out from a bush and snuck over to the A.S.P. gun. She climbed up the back of it and placed the pistol to the head of the Viper controlling it. The hatch opened and Sidewinder pulled the trigger, killing the Viper with a head shot. She dragged the body out of the A.S.P. and looked at the instructions. Ace came up by her and noticed that she was carrying at least four assault rifle and several pistols.

"Think you've got enough there Rambo?" Ace joked.

"Actually, this should be enough." Sidewinder coughed again. "Look, we don't have much time. The other emplacement is in that other clearing. I need you to cover me; just in case the rest of those Vipers decide to take some pot shots over here. I'll use this to take out the other emplacement." She jumped in the A.S.P. and started to take aim. Ace ran over to some crates and took aim in the direction that Sidewinder was aiming in. She stuck her arm out of the opening and gave a thumbs' up. She pulled the trigger and started shelling the other emplacement. There wasn't much of a resistance, but the massive explosion from the other side let them know that there wasn't much surviving that. She opened the hatch and walked out of the gun. She waved Ace over to her, which he came over.

"Head to the crash site, Brad. I'll be right behind you." She pulled out a couple of grenades, pulled the pins and threw them into the A.S.P. and the crates. She ran after Ace and everything behind her exploded. They made it to the crashed Rattler. Ace pulled out a flare gun and changed the flare.

"What are you doing?" Sidewinder asked.

"I'm changing the flare for the team. It's a color code we devised a long time ago." Ace loaded the flare. "Red is to come in with precaution; while green is all clear. I'm using the red for them to understand what's going on." Ace fired the flare gun into the air. They watched the flare go high in the sky. Sidewinder sat down and sighed.

"Now we just wait?" Sidewinder asked.

"It shouldn't be long. How are you, Cassie?" Both of them sat down on a felled tree.

Sidewinder sighed. "I'm dying. I know that I am." She coughed again and covered her mouth. She showed Ace the bloody gloves. "Internal bleeding: it's going to be a miracle if I come out of this." She lit up a cigarette and took a deep drag.

"I wish you didn't do that." Ace spoke up, gesturing to the cigarette. "You're in bad shape and you're not helping this situation. What if blood is in the lungs? You'll probably die quicker than usual."

"If I die, then I'm going to say and do what I want then." Sidewinder spoke, with a distinct harshness in her voice. She took another drag and inhaled deeply.

"Alright, if it's the truth that you want, I'll give you the truth." Ace responded with as just as much anger. "The truth is that I do actually give a damn and you don't. You are willing to sacrifice yourself for the mission. While that's commendable, it's insane!"

Sidewinder stood up, just as angry at this point. "You have to take risks to move ahead, asshole. If I didn't take chances in Badhakistan, I wouldn't have gotten as many kills. I figured that you'd understand."

"How many of your fellow pilots had to die in the process? How many did you sacrifice to get your kill ratio? It made you a six-time ace, but at what cost?" Ace shouted that he didn't hear the Tomahawk landing fifty yards in the empty field. "Let me ask you a question; how many of us would you have sacrificed for that record? I don't think I could live with that knowledge on my hands."

Sidewinder's face contorted in rage. "You don't know the demons and ghosts I've had to deal with in my life. I have to see those faces in my nightmares. Do you know how hard is to deal with that over and over?"

"If you want sympathy, you're not getting it from me." Ace glared back. "If you think that you're hot shit, here's a little eye-opener for you. The challenge that you took three months ago? I had to let you win. I'll admit that you are good, but in this team reckless works until you die. I conceded because of the danger that you put us into. What if that was a real dogfight over some residential area? What of the casualties there?"

Ace felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Lifeline, Stretcher and Doc behind him. Ace moved away and let them get to work on her. He was furious, but she hadn't won this argument. He turned back to her and this time; got in her face to finish his thought.

"You know what? I now consider you on that list of other pilots that I can't trust. You're all the same, thinking that you're the best. Think again, Cassidy. You're skills are what got you on this team, not you accomplishments. I think you need to find yourself another partner. Feel better, because when it comes down to it, you're just as useless as those wannabes." He was so angry that he stormed off towards the Tomahawk. He stopped and said the one last thing he needed to say.

"By the way, don't talk to me about ghosts. I see them in my nightmares also. You're not the only one that has seen friends die by your side. Grow up."

"That's enough, Ace." Hawk finally spoke up. "I need to speak with you, now." There was finality in his way of speaking. The two of them walked over to the Tomahawk. Ace tried not to look at some of the others, but he could see some of the looks on their faces. There was concern and surprise, but not one of them was angry with him. It seemed that he spoke some truth. They got over to the second Tomahawk and Hawk sat down in the bay of the helicopter. Hawk studied him for a moment, sighed and then spoke.

"I thought she was dead. The way that you were speaking, I thought she was gone."

"Truth be told sir, I thought so at first. When I was face-to-face with a Viper and he went down with a bolt to the brain, I turned and there she was." Ace sighed and explained the whole situation. He saw the other Tomahawk take off with the medical crew and Sidewinder. He felt somewhat bad for what he said, but it had to be said. Hawk just nodded to the whole thing.

"You have the evidence then?" Ace nodded and handed Hawk the film. Hawk pocketed it and turned to Ace. "Things will work out, you'll see." Hawk stood up and walked into the cockpit. Ace and a couple others jumped into the Tomahawk and headed home. Ace just sat there and contemplated what to do next. He wasn't sure what to do about Sidewinder, but he felt that he needed to talk to her. Now was not the time, but he hoped that she survived so they could continue this conversation. He felt a punch to the arm and noticed it was Firewall.

"What provoked you to do that to her?" Firewall whispered. Ace looked up to the ceiling of the Tomahawk.

"I was angry, Shelly. I meant some of what I said to her."

"She has that streak in her, Brad." Firewall smiled, a tear running down her cheek. "I'd suggest that you just talk to her. Tell her the truth, but try not to be combative with her." Firewall placed a concerned hand on Ace's shoulder. She smiled and leaned back in the seat, closing her eyes in the process. She promptly fell asleep. Ace decided to do the same.


	12. Second Chances

**Chapter Twelve/Epilogue: **Second Chances

Sidewinder had been off duty for the last two days and she felt that she was losing her mind. She would be off duty for close to a month, the medics' discretion said that this should be enough time for her to heal, but they highly suggested that she stop smoking. If she didn't, they couldn't guarantee that she would fly again. She was lucky for the skills of Doc, Lifeline, Stretcher and Dr. Talbot; they were able to fix her up. She was really lucky that there were no broken bones, but there was a lot of bruising; internally. She took most of the trauma in her chest and shoulders. The medics couldn't come up with a reason that she was coughing up blood from the first night, but they were glad that it subsided. She would be off duty for the rest of the week, but would be allowed to work in the hangars again after that. Sidewinder was in the small kitchenette, cleaning up the small meal that she made for Firewall and her when Firewall stood up and stretched.

"You need anything when I return from duty?" Firewall asked.

"I'm good Shelly, but I appreciate the offer. How long are you on shift today?"

Firewall sighed. "Too long, I'm afraid. I'm in comms from four this afternoon until well past midnight. At least I'll have company. I'll be working with Leonard."

"You're working with Scoop?" Sidewinder asked. "How did you get stuck working with him? Did you lose a bet?"

Firewall smiled. "No, actually he's installing new camera feeds. Duke's been on him to install new security measures. He's one of the only guys on the team that could pull it off."

Sidewinder shrugged. "Well have fun. If there's anything that you need me to do around here, give me a call." Firewall nodded, patting her cell phone. She walked over to Sidewinder and wrapped her up in a hug. Sidewinder knew that Firewall lost some team-mates that were close to her in the past. Sidewinder liked the attention; it made her feel validated. It was also a bonus that it showed her that someone cared. Firewall released her hug and walked to the door. She opened the door and let out a yelp of fright. Sidewinder turned from where she was cleaning and saw Ace at the door about ready to knock.

"Sorry Firewall. Are you okay?" Ace smiled.

"Geez, what the hell is wrong with you Ace?" Firewall asked.

"I was going to knock on the door, when it opened and I saw you there." Ace started to laugh. "I didn't mean to scare you." Firewall shook her head, while Sidewinder giggled.

"You have a visitor, Cassie. Do you want to see him or should I tell him where to go?"

"No, let him in Shelly. I was wondering when he would show up." Firewall moved out of the way to let Ace in. He entered the room and Firewall exited the room. She gave Sidewinder a smile that said for her to be strong before closing the door.

"Hey."

"Hey. You want a cup of coffee, Ace?" Ace nodded. Sidewinder started brewing some coffee. She got two mugs out one of the cabinets and set them down. She made her coffee and gave Ace his. He smiled a thanks to her and took a sip. She leaned on the wall while Ace sat down on the couch.

"You mind telling me what you're doing here, Armbruster?"

Ace looked up at her. "Actually I came to talk. I wanted to apologize to what I said to you a few days ago. I was angry and I just spoke my mind. I really am sorry about that."

Sidewinder sniffed. "I'm not too sure that I believe you. You see, even if you were mad; there was some truth in what you said. I know that I'm reckless, but I've had to be to accomplish anything in this world. I'm not excusing what I've done in the past, that's where it needs to be."

"Then what are you saying?"

"You said some really hurtful things to me the other day. I'm not going to forget them just like that. We're really going to have to work on some things."

"We?" Ace asked. Sidewinder nodded. "What do you mean by we?"

"I meant what I said back on the Rattler, before I ejected you. I love you and I want to work on us. I know that you've had some hard times with Marie, but I think that if we give us a chance, well things could work out."

"I'm willing to give it a better chance this time." Ace smiled.

"I hope that you mean it. I'm not going to be as forgiving this time. We're going to have some time before Firewall comes back home for the night. You can start by making up to me by rubbing my tired feet." Sidewinder smiled and sat down next to Ace. She placed her feet on the coffee table. Ace got down on the floor and reached out for her feet.

Firewall walked down the hallway to her room. She looked at her watch and noticed the time; it was eleven-fifteen at night and she was able to help Scoop get all of the cameras working and taping the grounds. Duke showed up and was pleased with the results. He sent them off to their quarters for the night and let the midnight shift monitor security and transmissions. Firewall was exhausted, but was glad that everything was working. She got to her door and heard Sidewinder laughing with someone. Firewall found her key and unlocked the door. She opened it and smiled to what she saw. Ace and Sidewinder were on the couch playing video games. Ace had the controller in his hand and was watching the screen with serious intent. Sidewinder on the other hand, was trying to help Ace with the game, but was laughing in the process. She looked up and smiled to her room-mate.

"Hey how are you, Shelly? Everything go okay tonight?"

"Yeah, everything's working fine Cass." Firewall smiled. "I see that you two worked out your issues?"

"Yeah, we did." Sidewinder said, standing up. She walked over to Firewall and gave her a hug. "I want to thank you so much for being there for me. Your friendship got me through a lot, Shell. I can't thank you enough." Firewall smiled back and let go. She turned to Ace and watched him get shot down repeatedly in the game he was playing.

"Having any luck there, Ace?" Firewall asked, as he got shot down again.

"No, not really Shelly." Ace replied. "This kid keeps beating me. He's pretty good."

"What's the screen name?" Firewall asked.

Sidewinder looked at the screen. "It says RocketMan14. Do you know him?"

Firewall started laughing. "Brad, that's Bazooka! You mean that David's been kicking your ass for most of the night?" Sidewinder started laughing as well and fell over on the ground. Ace looked up at the two of them in shock.

"Okay, I'm officially done with this game." Ace smiled, putting the controller down. "I should go anyway, it's getting late." He stood up and walked to the door. Sidewinder stood up, although with some difficulty. She walked him to the door. They stood out in the hallway for a minute or two. Ace waited for Sidewinder to collect herself before they talked.

"You done?" Ace smiled.

"I'm sorry, babe. That was the funniest thing I've ever seen." Sidewinder said, finally able to get her composure. "I'm glad that you stopped by. I'm even happier that we're on the road to us being closer."

"Yeah, I'm actually glad about that too." Ace said. He leaned over and kissed Sidewinder on the lips. "I'll see you at breakfast?" Sidewinder nodded. Ace smiled and walked down the hallway. Sidewinder smiled and walked back in. She looked at Firewall who was shutting off the 360. She smiled to Sidewinder.

"You think that this will work for you two this time?"

Sidewinder sighed and smiled back. "This is a second chance for the two of us, Shelly. I think that everything will work out between us." The two of them turned in for the night. Firewall was out in a moment, but Sidewinder was awake for some time. She was glad that Ace and her made up and that the future was looking bright for them.


End file.
